Kings, Queens, and Sammy

UPDATE:  Sammy's family has found him!  Praise God for ONE LESS!!!!

As I was driving to pick up Zachary from soccer last week, I was listening to the radio and heard this song.  It has been out for a while, but seeing as I am rarely in a vehicle quiet enough to hear my own thoughts, much less the radio, I had never actually heard all of the words.  And as I listened, the words hit home.

Kings and Queens - Audio Adrenaline     

           

                Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me

                Will we leave behind the innocent too brief
                On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
                These could be our daughters and our sons
                And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
                I know my God won’t let them be defeated
                Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

And again I remembered their little faces.  

And then I look back at this one.  

Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in Your majesty

When we love, when we love the least of these                       

Then they will be brave and free             

Shout your name in victory               

When we love when we love the least of these               

When we love the least of these

Yes, Mycah is home.  But my job isn't done.  I need to do more.  I WANT to do more.  There are 150,000,000 kids out there waiting for SOMEONE to do MORE.  

So I will continue to make people aware of this crisis. 

And I will pray.

And I will advocate!

For kids like this.

Meet Sammy.

Sammy is "the least of these."

Sammy is 5 years old and lives in a Chinese orphanage.  Originally, Sammy was believed to be deaf since he never talked.  But then his caregivers noticed that he could hear them.  So he was sent for testing, and recent tests have proven that he has NORMAL hearing.  Although he can hear, he still does not talk.  

Sammy needs a mommy to sing to him.  

Sammy needs a FAMILY!

Sammy is someone's son.  

Is he yours?

I would love to share more about Sammy and how anyone can do MORE for these "Kings and Queens."

Ups, Downs and In-Betweens

July 18th marked 4 months since Gotcha Day, and last weekend made 4 months at home for Mycah.  What an incredible time it has been.  Everyday he meshes more and more with our family.  And every day you can see that he is more and more comfortable at home.  That level of comfort definitely has had its ups and downs.

First for the "ups"!

Listening to a child learn a language by immersion is absolutely amazing to me!  He doesn't sit down and study vocabulary or conjugate verbs, he just listens and repeats!  And if you ever want to know what is said the most around your house, just listen to your newly adopted kiddo!  Most of it is good, but I did hear him say "what the heck?" last week.  At which time I had to have a little chat with a certain other child in my house!  We have moved from words to phrases for the most part.

"Mycah go, too!"
"Mycah NO night night!"
"Look at THAT!"
"What's that?"
"No, MINE!"
"Mycah's turn iPad!"
"I don't know?"
"Everybody bathing suit go big pool."
"Mycah do it!"
"Fine! I tell mom!"
"Are you sure?"



And my favorite for this month, said when Darrell asked him if he was going to cry at Sunday School this week,

           "No.  Mommy come back."  

So glad he is beginning to understand that!

                          

We are LOVING our new home and pool!  I have checked several times just to make sure he doesn't have gills anywhere, but it seems he's just all boy!

                   

Friends...old and new!  We have met several great new friends at church and on base.  And we even had the chance to say good-bye to some old friends before they left for their very far away, but very cool, assignment!  

Road Trip!  We have all desperately missed our California friends for the last year, so the kids and I decided to take a quick 10 1/2 hour trip to go visit a few of them!  When we were going there, Mycah kept talking about going to see "Alyssa's friends", or "Mommy's friends", etc.  

By the time we were driving home, he was talking about "Mycah's friends."  

I really think he felt just at home with everyone we saw as we did.  Being back in NorCal was fantastic.  We even managed to squeeze in 2 ER visits at David Grant...just for old times' sake!

Sadly, we had to again leave our CA family, and head back to Vegas.  But the next week was Mycah's first VBS!  Mycah was rather unsure at first, so I stayed with him on the 1st night.  By night 2, he was a pro, and he totally loved the rest of the week.  Right down to the big VBS finale for the parents on Friday.  

Total cuteness I tell ya!  What an incredibly long way he has come in such a short time.  It was so much fun, we did VBS again the next week!  Colossal Coaster!

Most of us know that adoption is not without its challenges.  These would be the occasional "downs."  Sometimes we have so many good days, that the bad ones kind of catch me off guard now.  But they still rear their ugly head every now and then.  Right after Gotcha Day, Mycah was SUPER compliant.  Almost in a catatonic way sometimes actually!  I guess that is what absolute shock will do to some kids.  He ate what I gave him, played with whatever toy I pulled out, watched whatever was on the TV or iPad with no opinions at all.  Well, let me tell you, he is making up for lost time in this area!  Which isn't all bad!  It is actually pretty healthy for his attachment and bonding.  But he has an opinion about everything!!  E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  What to eat, what to drink, what to watch, what puzzle to take out, what shirt to wear, what wii game to play, what shoes to wear to the pool.  He even had a strong opinion last week about which arm the phlebotomist should draw his blood from.  And if he isn't sure exactly what to say, or doesn't like what you just said, he just uses every 2 year old's favorite word...."NO!!!!!"  And when I repeat myself, every 4 year old's favorite word is then used..."but WHY????"  or even a combination sometimes, "WHY NOT?"  One of my favorite things he says when I give him a choice about something is "Umm, Lessa seeee..." (Umm, let's see).

And then sometimes there's just the full-blown meltdown.  Thankfully, these are few and far between, but this pic was definitely taken on a "low" kind of night!  Oh, what I would give to know what exactly triggers these.  Although I am pretty sure this one was just sheer exhaustion!


And then for all the "in-between."  We are still working on getting his medication dosing exactly right.  I feel like we should have some sort of frequent visitor card for the lab.  His crying is no longer silent...EVERYONE knows when we are there now!  Prayers would be appreciated for this whole adrenal situation.  It is tough to keep some things suppressed and elevate others.  The medications seem to be helping some of the levels, but the doctor wants to see us earlier than originally scheduled.  So that leads me to believe that we don't have this hormonal puzzle totally figured out yet.  His bone age scan was not what I had hoped, and that will be a HUGE determining factor in his upcoming treatment.  Our next appointment is Monday.  Please pray for the doctors' wisdom, clear communication, and for Mycah's little body to function like it was designed to function.


On the lighter side, here is my new van.

OK...kidding.

But it should be.

Alyssa is back in gymnastics 4 times a week...30 miles round trip.  Zachary will be starting school next month at a charter across town...30 more miles round trip in a different part of town.  He will also be trying out for soccer at our zoned school back on our side...more miles.  I am SO glad that Mycah has gotten over his hatred towards his "big boy seat", because it will be seeing quite a few miles this year.

Sometimes I think I would like a nanny more now than when they were all little!

Or perhaps I just need a good chauffeur??

            

How's His English??

Without fail, the first question people ask about Mycah is a general "How's he doing?"  The second is ALWAYS "How's his English?"  In four more days, we will mark 3 months since Gotcha.  And considering the fact that he is not yet in school, I think his language development is remarkable.  If I had to estimate his understanding, I would say he understands at least 80 percent of what I say to him.  (In English...I don't think anyone would understand my southern accented Chinese!)  Although his spoken vocabulary isn't as much as his understood vocabulary, it is still pretty vast.  He has no problem making his wants and needs known!  And he can now successfully "tattle" on his brothers and sister...and he never thinks twice about it either!

So if you come and visit us any time soon, you will probably hear a lot of these words and phrases...mixed in with a few random Chinese words every now and then!

"Mommy!"  (ALL. THE. TIME.)
"Mycah, swim big pool!"
"Jump!"
"Right back!"
"meiyou (may yo) Nathyn!!"  (No, Nathyn!)
"Puzzle"
"Picture"
"Baba...doctor" (Daddy is with the doctors.  I don't think he gets that Daddy WORKS with the doctors and is not GOING to the doctor every day though?)
"Brush your teeth!"
"No splash!"
"All done"
"Soccer...kick"
"Friend"
"Scooter.  Helmet."
"Nathyn, Table!!" (When Nathyn tries to sneak a snack into the family room.)
"Again!"
"Mycah hungry."
"Mycah doctor all done!"  (He doesn't want to go back to the doctor)
"Almost Mycah happy birthday!"  (Umm...lots more sleeps buddy...not till August 9!)
Holds up fingers and says, "One...night night.  Two... jo san (good morning).  Three...big pool!"  Or whatever event is coming up the next day.

And my favorite today as we got into the van..."Ho wee cow it hot!"  (Apparently I say that a lot these days?)

And this is by no means an exhaustive list of his vocabulary.  I would be lying if I said the language thing is no big deal.  There are times it has been quite challenging.  Like explaining why mommy does nothing while the mean lady with the needle draws 7 vials of blood!  But the charades are finally dwindling, and the google translate hasn't been used much since we tried to explain the whole moving-across-the-country thing at the end of April.  The few Chinese words I know are finally being replaced by their English counterparts.  Which is probably a good thing since I am not even sure I am saying things right most of the time!  Tonal languages are very unforgiving, ya know!

But the one phrase I refuse to give up...Wo ai ni...I love you.  And, oh, do I ever!

And just for other random cute pics on my phone...

Nay and Mycah "Tebowing" in the BX

Nap time...not sure why he has to pick Alyssa's stuffed animals?

Two of the Wiggles...made us laugh how much he really looks like "Jeff"

Second hair cut...first "big boy" cut with the clippers!

Nathyn's birthday cake...Train them up right! :-)

Las Vegas or Bust...part 2

After a couple of necessary stops in Oklahoma City and Albuquerque, we made it to Monument Valley.  It really did look like we had just stepped in to a John Wayne movie.

Throwing rocks was his FAVORITE thing to do!  

Then on to the Grand Canyon.  If you have never been, no picture will actually do it justice!

Upon arriving at Nellis AFB, I immediately sent Darrell to the housing office in hopes of obtaining a good spot on the housing list.  We anticipated a 30 day wait or so, since most people who would require a 4 bedroom house typically do not move out until after the school year ends.  Fortunately, we were offered a house right away and moved in only 5 days later!

Reminds me of a Florida house....minus (thankfully) the pink flamingos!  We even have grass!

Thank you to those who prayed for us on our trip out.  Mycah did exceptionally well for a kid who had only been "home" for about 6 weeks before our journey started.  The iPad and the DVD player definitely helped me maintain my sanity in the van.  Although I have now listened to "Ni hao, Kai lan" more than anyone should ever have to! :-)

Now that we are (almost) unpacked and living a normal life again, it is amazing to watch him continue to grow and develop.  He is settling in here and hasn't missed a beat.  We were blessed with a super quick endocrinologist appointment for TOMORROW!  We can't even get in to see the regular pediatrician until the 27th of June.  So getting in to the endo 3 days after we are in the Tricare system out here is pretty much a miracle.  

The only other thing I have to say is...

IT's HOT OUT HERE!

Viva Las Vegas!

Vegas or Bust...Part 1

With our time in DC through, the long trip west was ready to begin.  Knowing that Darrell would be very busy with his clinical assignment when we got to Vegas, we decided to make a vacation out of this move.  So our first overnight stop was Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg.  What a place!  Definitely not on the cheap side, but there was something fun for everyone in our crew.  So to me it was well worth it!

Heading out for Mycah's first swim.  

He has quite the little personality.

Catching a wave!

Even Dad had a blast!

Nay loved the basketball pool.

Sometimes it was a little overwhelming.

But I still think he had fun.

Silly boy!

Love this laugh!

Although Williamsburg was a blast, we had more fun times waiting for us.  One of the highlights of our trip was stopping in NC to visit some friends.  We grabbed an early dinner that day at Chick fil a just so we could visit with Lucy and her family.  

Lucy and Mycah had been in the same orphanage in Guangdong.  For about a year now, her mom and I have been in touch via the internet.  Lucy's family traveled in August, and they were able to meet Mycah while they were there.  They were able to get great pictures and videos of him which was such a blessing to this anxiously waiting mama!  We aren't quite sure how much time they spent together, or if they even remembered each other, but they sure hit it off big that day!  And it was a joy to watch.

The next few stops are a blur.  We stayed in Cherokee, Pigeon Forge, and then on to Memphis.  

And then the stop I had been looking forward to for months...Little Rock!  Not that I was excited about the location, but we were all terribly excited to stop and see the Brakman bunch.  This was the first time our little Asians had met.  

And, of course, the bigs enjoyed their time together!  Probably a little too much at times.  

And we even managed to get out for a "Mom's only" breakfast and Wal-Mart trip one morning.  The peace and quiet was almost more than two moms with 9 kids can stand.  But not quite :-)

Our time was over way too quickly, but we still had 4 more stops to go before Vegas.  Getting closer!