LOA for Little man!

We finally received our LOA for our little man today. It has only taken us 3 months from Log in to LOA  and 2 times submitting the paperwork. I swear every adoption is the same stress level, only God likes to mix it up some. Last time we lost our dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and freezer. This time it has been a circus of paperwork "gone wild". Apparently there is a black hole with our name on it and every time I send something to our agency, even overnight, it disappears.
And so here we are with our LOA in hand and I submitted it to the USCIS.
We are praying to traveling before Thanksgiving.

Submitting I800 paperwork

This has taken longer than I had anticipated. Between the paperwork itself and collecting funds we are behind on my self inflicted schedule. Hopefully I will submit it all by Monday and have it approved within a week or two after that. Sometimes I feel like this is all in slo-mo. Like I'm trying to navigate through a big bowl of jello, pushing through...

Story behind our latest fundraiser

The tree on this shirt represents the roots that Xavier put down while here. He connected all of us as a family and he reached out to so many around the world with his smile and love of life. It's because of him that we head back to China again. Through loving him we realized how important it is to continue, to adopt, to battle those (I'm scared this will happen again) demons because every child deserves a family, deserves love. This fundraiser, this t-shirt, is in his name.

 

https://www.bonfirefunds.com/bringing-home-2-angels

 

 

 

LOA!

We received LOA for our two cuties about 3 weeks ago. Through some typical blunders on the post office's side as well as our agency, we just received the hard copies so we could submit our 800 paperwork.

So without further ado, here are the two cuties we are bringing home.

Liam and Bevin Grace, formerly known as Max and Grace on Reese's Rainbow. We hope to travel in the next few months provided we fully fund.

Let the fundraising begin!

Written on February 14, 2015

 

No matter the pain, I will never regret adopting Xavier. I will never regret loving him and kissing him and laughing with and at him. I will cherish every moment, every eye brow wrinkle, every giggle. Life isn't about absolutes and certainties. It's about taking risks and chances and losing the things we love and experiencing life. God didn't give me absolutes with Xavier. Do I cry myself to sleep, do I yell and curse in my head? Yes. Because I miss my son. I want my son back.... I want all those moments that I will never have because God chose to take him. And I will never understand why he chose now. But that won't stop me from loving again. It won't stop us from adopting again, from loving again. Because life is a gamble. A beautiful gamble. And Xavier was so worth it. As is every child who is out there waiting for their family to come and get them. As painful as losing Xavier was, he died knowing he was loved. Absolutely and completely. He died knowing he had a family and was wanted. Too many children out there don't know this. They need a family. And so I urge anyone who has thought about adopting to please think again about it. Ask questions. Get the ball rolling. For those who aren't in the position to adopt, I urge you to help families who are taking that leap of faith to adopt. Every child deserves a family.

Our journey back to adoption

I'd like to tell a little story if I could so please bear with me. A month or so before Xavier went into the hospital Andrew and I had come to the conclusion that we were going to go back to China. It had been 2 years since the boys came home and everyone was healthy and calm. We had our schedules down, we weren't scheduled for any surgeries, the kids were rocking in school. We were a family of 8.

 It was time.

 And so we started the paperwork for a special someone who has been in my heart since I started advocating 4 years ago.

And then Xavier went into the hospital.

And the world stopped turning. It never crossed my mind in that first week and even into the second week that we wouldn't be leaving the hospital with him. He had pneumonia. RSV. That was it. Lots of kids get it. We would just get through this, go home, obsess over the medical bills and quietly panic every winter when the other kids got sick. And then it started getting weird. They started pulling in specialists from every department to try and figure out what was going on. Heart, kidneys, genetics, autoimmunity, GI, and on and on. And even when his kidneys failed and they put him on the ECMO machine, I lived in denial. He was coming home and worst case scenario was that we would have to do dialysis short term. My husband allowed me to live there because it kept me sane. And best case was that we now had every department on board and we would finally be able to figure out why he wasn't growing, why he wasn't thriving... Something I had been working to get since he came home! And frankly denial is a good place to live in when your head is telling you one thing but your heart won't listen. Life without my guy just wasn't an option. We had always known he wouldn't have a long life like the other kids, but two years?? TWO YEARS?? No. Not happening! And so we fought. And fought. And God let us fight. We had hope. It was a daily roller coaster. Sometime hourly. And just when we had climbed the mountain and could see the other side (the lungs were clearing and they were going to slow down dialysis), we found the spot on his cheek. And then they realized that the spot on his hand had grown 10x larger within a day. And we fell back down the mountain never to find our footing again. We prayed, we cried. I made deals with God. So many deals. Anything to not lose my son. Anything to take him home with me. Please just don't take him. Give me another 2 years with him. Another 6 months. Anything but now.

And everything was quiet. He was still.

We came to a point where we knew we had done everything we could. We had a meeting with all the doctors and they said the same. And so we made the decision to end life support. It was the hardest thing I will ever do. Ever. Even once the decision was made in my mind, it was getting the words out. Because once it's said...
I kept wondering how I got here. We just came in for pneumonia. A cold. And now we were having to say goodbye? How could that be?
But as painful as it was, I was at peace. I don't know how that could be, but I was. I knew we weren't alone. We felt the prayers, I felt my Grandma close by, my best friend, Kim, my MIL.
I go through so many emotions every day. I cry, I laugh, I hide. I keep expecting to see him when I enter the kitchen, when I go into his room in the morning to wake up Ethan. And I miss him so much. Sometimes my heart aches because I miss him so much.

In those moments I have to remind myself that our lives aren't over and his has just begun. And that is my one comfort. I WILL see him again. I know I will. And I know he is whole now. He is running and jumping and laughing and singing. And as someone pointed out to me, he is pointing down at me from heaven and telling people "That's my mommy and she loves me so much!"

 It's crazy to think that all roads lead back to adoption. We took a beautiful risk when we adopted him and we have been forever blessed because of it. In fact, so many people have been blessed because of Xavier. The messages and letters I have received from people saying that they are going into nursing, physical therapy, missionary work, advocating, special needs teaching and so on because of Xavier has been incredible! We've seen it in our own children. My Maeve is set on becoming a special needs teacher because of her love for him. All because of Xavier. To think that our son was on this earth for 5 short years and he accomplished more than some do in their entire lives. He has changed lives for the better and all because of his smile, his innocence, his love of life, his will to live. And so I will continue to advocate for orphans in his name. And we will continue to adopt as God sees fit. We will continue to bring children home, whether into our family or by helping others, because that is what life is all about. Moving forward. Bringing families to children.

James 1:27 "To look after orphans and widows in their distress."

And so with that being said, we have an announcement. We are continuing our paperwork and bringing home two children. Yes, two. We had started the paperwork for one but when Xavier passed away we felt like we could now give this second one the attention and medical that was needed. A child that I wouldn't have dared to bring home in my past life. And so we are bringing home two. We need prayers. We need prayers for calm, for peace, for certainty. The children are excited for their new siblings and I think this will really help with the healing process. Because of Xavier's special needs, no child is now a "special need". They are a child. And so whatever the future brings, it brings.

Xavier

It has been so long since I've written on my blog. Everyday life has gotten in the way and we have been so busy with school and after school activities, doctor appts and so on.

Mid January Xavier was admitted into the hospital for RSV. We thought it would be a routine stay and we would be home in a week or two and cursing the hospital bills from that stay. Instead we spent over a month in PICU and are now planning a funeral.

Xavier William Jones passed away February 13, 2015 at 12:14 am due to complications from multiple organ failure and a deadly fungus.

He is so missed and is so loved. He was a blessing from the moment we brought him home to the moment we said goodbye. He has touched so many lives in his short 5 years here on earth and we are so blessed and honored to have been able to care for him and love him while he was here.

My beautiful boy

6-17-09   -   2-13-15

Almost one year home

Time has flown by for both boys. After being home almost a year I can honestly say that I feel like they have always been here. The love and affection I feel for both of them is overwhelming.

With the multiple doctor and hospital visits for Xavier we have endured, the Momma bear has kicked in and we are on a roll to get him healthy and walking.

Several months ago Xavier had dental surgery. We had to take him to the hospital to be put under and the dentist took out 1 tooth, placed 5 caps and filled 12 cavities. I didn't realize he even HAD that many teeth. Fortunately this has not stopped him from eating and we are now using the pump solely for water (or his vitamin water, as I call it). He still aspirates with pure liquids. But with food he is definitely letting his preferences be known. I love it. He loves all things sweet and so I mix different cereals with baby food and add agave nectar to the veggie ones. He eats them right up. Because of this we are continuing with steady weight gain. And feeding him... no big deal. He does his baby bird impression with most meals.

About 6 months ago we took Xavier to the Orthopedic doctor for an evaluation. He said at that time that X was looking at hip surgery for at least his left hip, if not both. We hemmed and hawwed over it but knew in the end that not only would he need it to walk and crawl but that we needed to do it by the end of the year since we have already well met our deductible for the year. So last week we went in for the surgery. 6 weeks in a body cast. It already feels like 6 months and we have 5 more weeks to go. But at the end he will have no pain when he walks and crawls and I can't wait to see how he flourishes without the pain!

On the speech side he is babbling and cooing and trying out sounds all the time. He has really come out of his shell in the past couple of weeks and we have seen this with all of our children once they are home for 10 months or so. It's like a lightbulb goes off and they realize they are safe and they are home. We have seen the same with Ethan. Xavier is in a 3 hour a day special ed pre-school program through our local school district and he loves it. So do I! The teachers dote on him and push him and he is getting one on one attention there while I'm able to get things done for the business and around the house. I miss him terribly though. It's funny how 3 hours can go so slowly on some days and then speed by on others. But at the end of the day, he is flourishing.

Ethan is amazing! He has had his hearing aids since last April and he is flourishing in his classes. We were able to get him into the deaf school and he is learning sign language, as well as speech. His math and English skills are thriving and he is catching up with his classmates every day. His teacher is constantly writing me notes and emailing me, telling me what a joy he is and how smart he is. Tell me something I don't already know, right? :)

Ethan fits in beautifully here at home. He loves his siblings, he loves to help me cook and take care of Xavier. We have found that one of his passions is Golf and so he is taking lessons. He also diddles on the piano and I need to get him started with those lessons. He tends to make people smile and laugh wherever he goes. We are so blessed to have both boys in our lives and our hearts.

Update

It's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that. On my Facebook page I keep people apprised but even then... we are BUSY.

 A month ago my 12 yr old was electrocuted and we spent a week in the hospital with him. Luckily for us, it was on the same floor as when we were there the times with Xavier and so they treated him like a prince. Since then we have been trying to get back to "normal". Shaw is finally swimming again and will go to State this year as he has the last several summers. He lost 20 pounds due to the proteins breaking down. He is still nervous when he goes into the water and needs reassurance from me every time he goes to jump in. Because of the loss of muscle, he is slower and tires easily, which really makes him angry. He still kicks butt though and I keep reminding him how thankful he should be that he is here on earth to be angry. 10 more seconds in the water and we would have had a funeral. Not something a mom wants to think about. Ever. So we are just thankful to have him with us and for me to be able to touch him and love on him.

 Our Xavier.

What to say about him? We have had several appts with different doctors. We are working him into a stupor with PT and OT. His life consists of sitting and standing, stretching and moving.

 

He is saying "Momma" constantly and loves to sing along with music.

 

He claps his hands.

 

He stands for 15 minutes at a time (while holding onto something and not particularly happily)

 

He sits for long stretches of time and is no longer allowed to lay on his back. He spent too much time

doing that and so we are making up for lost time in every way imaginable.

 

When he is on the bed with us, snuggling, he rolls over and loves to be on his belly. 

 

He knows exactly what I am saying and will nod his head for yes or make a cry for no.

We are still battling the MRSA. We have an appt with the infectious disease doctor, since we have tried 4 different meds through the dermatologist and International clinic with no results. Thank you, Shepard's Field, for getting him cultured and taken care of in China. (que sarcasm) Your neglect has not only made it harder for us to battle it (because it has colonized in him), but it has now been passed onto his big sister, who spends her time loving on him and holding him, and so now she is battling the same strain (which is a super strain) since it jumped from his head to her bug bite.

 We have seen a geneticist to see if there is something wrong with him metabolically. Nope. Just severe neglect.

 On Wednesday he goes in for dental surgery. So far the dentist knows he will need 4 teeth pulled (because they are disintegrating when touched) and 4 capped. The rest will be assessed when he is under. We could use some prayers since he will have to be under. 

 Our last visit was to the Orthopedic doctor. We were there for his knee issues but found out that one of his hips is almost out of the socket. Again, NEGLECT! When you lay in a specific position for such a long period of time... Yes, the anger builds. So now we are looking at hip surgery for him. Just when he was getting to the point that he can crawl and stand on his own, we are now having to start from scratch once he gets out of his body cast. The doctor is thinking in the next month since he doesn't want it to come out completely.
Next week we have an appt with the Optomologist to see how his eyes are doing. He is giving eye contact to everyone now but there are some issues with what exactly he can see.

We are so thankful for all the prayers. They are definitely working. Xavier is growing and flourishing everyday. He is so loved and just so amazing. I can't imagine what life would be like without him. Our lives are so full!

Wordless Saturday

The Life of Xavier

From the moment he wakes up, to the moment he falls asleep at night we are making up for lost time. We are standing and sitting and stretching and playing. 

And Xavier is THRIVING!

Thriving the way he should have been at SF, thriving the way he would have if only someone had taken the time with him. 

So here he is asleep while I make dinner.... this was a month ago. He has now outgrown the saucer and is solely in the walker and bouncer. 

Our daily standing PT (he now stands on his own, while leaning on the couch or my leg, for 10 minutes at a time

This was a month ago... the cheeks are starting to really fill out...

Daily PT... prone position... twice a day for 5 minutes at a time... his arms are so strong....

The cuteness that is my boy. The cheeks are filling out, he has a tummy and is so strong! He is our miracle child~

Easter Morning 2013

Well, it is official. The Bigs are now preteens and sleep in while the Littles were up and bathed and dressed, ready to hunt down some eggs. :)

This was our picture before they headed out for the hunt. 

Typical Shaw picture...

I gave the Littles a minute 30 head start and they just didn't move fast enough... Finn was searching for all of the purple ones (her favorite color) and Scarlett the yellow ones...

And no Easter hunt would be complete without a Silly String battle... sadly the Littles were a mere casualty of the Big's battle... Finn thought it was great, Scarlett.... not so much...

My Crew

Can you believe how Miss Finn has grown in the 14 months that she has been home? Her hair is long and beautiful, she is speaking English like a champ, and she loves school. She is sweet and stubborn and a blessing.

Ethan has been home 4 months and is awesome! Love this boy more than anything! He finally has his hearing aids and we enrolled him into school. He loves it and is making friends left and right. We are going through the battles with the school system right now. Typical. And expected. Fortunately I've danced this dance before with Finn and have a wonderful advocate on my side, so I'm actually able to focus on other things... like doctor appts and post adoption issues that will now take front burner...

Miss Scarlett has now been home for a little over two years. She came home with no language skills and minimal movement in her leg and arm (despite the weekly PT/OT that Shepard's Field swore she was getting) and through actually DOING PT and OT here, she is involved in Gymnastics and Cheerleading just like her big sister. She is a snuggle bunny and loves time with her mommy. 

This precious caped crusader, X, has been through Hell and back and is growing stronger and stronger every day! A child, home only 4 months, who once could barely raise an arm can now pull himself up 3/4 of the way to a sit, can sit for 10 minutes at a time, can stand while leaning against an object and eats like a champ! 

Miss Maeve is our 5th grade sweetie. She loves Cheerleading, reading Shakespeare, helping me make dinner and designing clothes. We are so blessed to be her parents. She adores her siblings and is a huge help around the house.

The elusive Shaw is above in the group picture. Getting a picture of him is like catching Big Foot. Ain't gonna happen! :P

Shaw is in 7th grade, swims, thinks himself a "scholar" and is a typical 12 yr old. We adore him despite himself. He is awesome with the Littles, has taken Ethan under his wing (they share a room) and is a huge help around the house. 

Yes, we are beyond blessed. 

Thank you, God, for your grace, your patience and your faith in us to raise your beautiful children. We think it is the biggest and most amazing honor you could have bestowed on us. 

The many faces of X

X with his sidekick, Tucker, hung with Mommy while I made dinner. As you can tell, he is still on the pump, but he is making great progress in every other way. This kitten has been amazing! Tucker is about 5 months old and adores X. Whenever he is getting PT, Tucker is right there to egg him on and comfort him when he gets upset or cries. He sleeps in his crib every night and X talks to him when/if he wakes up during the night. 

 He is sitting on his own, as long as he knows I am right there and he can fall back onto me. 

He is receiving PT and OT once a week and I am stretching him and doing PT and OT twice a day the rest of the week. 

He is putting his hands in his mouth with much delight. His trip to the dentist concluded with plans for caps on all of his back teeth and massive work on the front. Apparently this is what happens when formula is just left sitting in a child's mouth for long periods of time. We are waiting for our dental insurance to kick in and then we'll take him in. 

He rolls around the room to get to me and sleeps on his side at nap time and night. He is the ultimate wiggly worm. 

 He is eating solids, like bananas and rice cereal. He is no longer aspirating on liquids because he trusts me and knows I won't shove fluids down his throat. We have been playing with a baby bottle during the day, full of water, and he likes to chew on the nipple and suck on the water.

He loves to laugh and will giggle with abandonment. He is saying more babble words and saying them for the same things.  

He loves looking at books and clapping along to music. 

His skin looks awesome. He still has the ezcema, but it is controlled with creams and diet. He still gets the spots on the top of his head, but this is far and few between. It's amazing what can be accomplished when a child is actually bathed and put into clothing that are not only clean but a breathable material. 

His allergy testing showed that he is allergic to peanuts and eggs only. 

At this point he is running at a 6 month old level and I'll take it! He is happy, healthy and LOVED! He knows he matters and it shows in everything he does and tries to do. 

I wonder what would happen if the roles were reversed?

Little Mushroom's Stay In The Hospital

We spent 4 days in the hospital this time and Mushroom had the GI button placed, an MRI on his brain and spine, and a scope. Results of these will be in a forthcoming post.

This is Mushroom before he was taken back for surgery. He is already zoning and about to fall asleep.

 This is Mushroom once he was back in the room and just waking up, still happy on pain meds.

This is Mushroom crashed after a long night of nurses coming in and out... the morphine has once again kicked in...

This is what we had to put in to that sweet little belly thanks to several years of indifference/starving and feeding him what he was allergic to. Because of this, he has grown an aversion to eating anything and so the only way to get nutrients into him is through a tube. Thank you, Shepard's Field, for allowing him to waste away to nothing while turning a blind (and not so blind eye) to this. 

We are now home and have mastered the GI feedings. His ezcema has evened out and he is up to 17 pounds. We are passing our days with home PT and OT and driving back and forth to doctor appointments. We are currently waiting on insurance to give the okay for home health care PT, OT and Speech therapy. 

Below is a reminder of what he looked like when we got him the first week of December. This picture was taken almost a week after we had received him and put the feeding tube into his nose.

Official Diagnosis

We finally have a "diagnosis" for our little mushroom. It was what I was expecting but to be slapped upside the head with it and in black and white really hits home.

Depraved indifference.

This was his diagnosis. Not in those words, but after spending the time and money and pain that my little guy went through, all the blood letting and surgeries and time away from family in the hospital.... there is nothing wrong with his throat, nothing wrong with his blood, nothing stopping him from eating or thriving.

Or is there?

Failure to thrive. Indifference. Coldness. Nothing.

This is what my little mushroom felt and endured from the time he was carried through the front doors of Samaritan House. The missionary groups that came through, the rare moments and angels that did love on him, make him feel "loved", didn't make up for the hours and days and weeks and months that he laid on the floor or in his crib getting NOTHING.
And so he gave up.
And then the next group came through. And he was given attention for a week, maybe an hour a day.

And then they left.

And then he was alone again.

And finally, after having so many groups come and go, so many groups tell him he mattered and then leave...

He gave up for good.

And the nannies could care less. They couldn't be bothered with a child that wasn't immediately responsive and who's skin was nasty. Why bother with a child who was an inconvenience and cried when they fed him? And the allergies? Whatever. They couldn't be bothered with that either and so they fed him the same things he was allergic to and then were annoyed when he cried.
His MRI shows a smaller brain with more fluid than matter. His scope showed a throat that is fine. Under normal circumstances I would think something else, but after confirmation from individuals who were there and saw what he was capable of doing -vs- the almost dead state he was in when I arrived, I know what the "diagnosis" is and the medical staff here does too. Fortunately he will get better. He will learn to trust food again and be able to eat. He will continue to gain weight and he will thrive! Funny how in just a month home he is sitting on his own and holding his head up at all times. He is back to engaging people with his eyes, even though he doesn't like eye contact for long periods of time. 

And those who showed indifference, those who just couldn't care enough to make sure he received what he needed.... we aren't finished. Xavier may have to take it "laying down" right now, but I don't and he won't for long.

There will be changes. The ball is now in your court on how those changes will be made. Think carefully these next couple of weeks as you make those decisions, make those changes within your facility. And remember that you were given so many opportunities to right those wrongs and you did nothing. You sacrificed my child... and for what? Where is God in all of this? Jesus says that we save all of the children, not just the cute ones, not just the ones that speak to us. We save and love all....

How many?

5 days in the hospital really takes its toll on you. Emotionally. Psychologically. Financially.

When we were in China and I first saw the condition he was in, I tried so hard to distance myself and prepare myself for the worst. Every night I would go to bed wondering if he would be alive in the morning. I would spend hours watching his chest rise and fall. And I would fall more and more in love with him every day, no matter how hard I tried not to.

How could I not?

When he was admitted into Cook's Children we knew it would be for a while. There were so many unknowns. So many questions. We weren't sure what the diagnosis would be. We weren't sure how long we would be there or how it would affect the other children. And it's been rough. On all of us.

Watching blood drawn on a daily basis, watching him be too dehydrated to even get blood from him, watching him scream every time a nurse came into the room, watching him go back into his "mushroom" mode because it was all too much, it all broke my heart. All of this breaks my heart. It makes me angry, it makes me vengeful, it makes me weep. Something so simple as basic nutrition and care could have prevented all of this pain, this pain for everyone concerned. Our entire family watches and holds our breathe. Watching him struggle to eat anything more than his own saliva, knowing the only way that he will survive at this junction is through either a nose tube or GI tube and with hyped up calories and meds to control the damage that has been done to his body. Wondering how long (if at all) it will take for his body to repair itself.

And knowing that once he is on the road to recovery... and he WILL be on the road to recovery... I will start my campaign to make sure that this doesn't happen to other children. That every child has a voice. Especially in a facility that says they "speak for the children". No one spoke for Xavier. No one cared enough to speak for him. They were too busy, too self absorbed, too indifferent. How many more children have to suffer in silence before there is change? How many children are suffering right now? In silence? In a place that is supposed to be a sanctuary for the orphan? A place where they are supposed to be loved and cherished and cared for?

How many?

Prayers for Xavier

In about 6 hours my husband and I are to be at Cook's Children Hospital to admit Xavier for an undisclosed period of time. It appears he is in organ failure due to an extensive period of starvation and malnutrition. Thankfully they will allow me to stay with him and so my mom will be watching the children at home. We need some serious prayers. Not only for Xavier but also for our insurance company to follow through and pay for this. They have been taking their time in processing our application (see ignoring and saying they haven't received it) and so they are now saying January 15th as the start date. Obviously Xavier can't wait that long and so we are going on faith that everything will be covered and Aetna will go above and beyond in paying for this hospital visit.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

Grieving

I knew it was coming. My husband and I have watched and waited for the other shoe to drop. Here he is, 10 years old, having lived with a wonderful foster family for 5 years. It was bound to happen. He finally let loose last night after Christmas Eve dinner. As we all sat around the dining room table, laughing and talking and doing what families do together, he watched in silence. Only later did it dawn on me that he couldn't understand a thing we were saying. Even the Littles (both from China and Finn home only a year) were involved in the conversations and talking in English. How alone he must have felt at that moment, realizing there was no one to talk to, no one who understood him.

And so once we got home from Grandma and Grandpa's house and I frantically attempted to get all the Littles into bed so we could finish wrapping and get the house ready for the next day, he blew and my night was altered.

I spent over an hour with him, holding him, rubbing his back and telling him I loved him and it was okay to be sad and cry. This is huge because although he was grieving for another place and another family, he let me comfort him, he welcomed it. Thank you, God, for that that small miracle. Thank you, God, for allowing me to comfort my son in his darkest hours. It is the one time that spoken language isn't needed. It's the one time that touch and comfort are what's needed. He knows he is loved. He knows he is wanted.

He's already melted down twice today so I know we have a long road ahead of us. But at least he has feelings that can be validated and he lets me comfort him. That is huge!

Ethan

You know, it's funny because when Becky commented on my lack of information on Ethan, I was floored. For those who are a Facebook friend, you see my almost daily family postings. So for those who aren't, I apologize.

Ethan. What can I say about Ethan? He is an awesome kid. He came into our family and has settled in like he has always been here. There are squabbles with the littles because he is a bossy older brother, but he plays with everyone. He plays dolls with Maeve and Nerf guns with Shaw. He plays hide and seek with the littles and loves to color and draw and read in English. He helps me around the house, sometimes not willingly, and will take the initiative with helping the littles do something.

He is so bright and amazes me daily with what he knows and how quickly he learns. And he wants to learn. Everything. And he wants me to know what he knows. He is a chatterbox and sings songs and says poems all day long. He has been like this since the day I met him. Non-stop chatter. Which, of course, gives Maeve a run for her money.

When we first met him, I listened to him talk and knew he was hard of hearing. This has since been verified and we will be heading in for extensive testing to see what is next for him. This is really the only thing that frightens me because I can go 2 feet behind him and clap loudly and he can't hear me. When he talks, he talks like a deaf person talks, which makes me love him even more because his file said "developmental delays" and when I think about how much he has had to overcome with the hearing.... he's my hero.  When he first came into our lives and I would work with him on sounds, he would become embarrassed and not want me to hear him mess up. He has since realized that I love him and want to help him and so he is working really hard on those hard sounds and words.

His other special need is limb difference. This is something that is very raw for him and I know he was teased horribly in China for it. The first couple of days with my husband and he wouldn't even take his shoes off. Once he arrived in Zhengzhou with my husband it took him another 3 days to take off his socks and this was only because his foot was hurting and he needed me to look at it and make it better. He was schocked that there was no reaction out of either of us and life just went on. Fast forward home and again, it took him 3 days to take off his socks infront of his siblings. The littles haven't even noticed and Shaw (I love this kid) said "Cool" and gave him the thumbs up. And life goes on.

Since he's been home for 2 weeks we have cleaned out most of the suitcases and cleared out the playroom, made gingerbread houses, shopped at Costco, visited Scottish Rite and had a birthday dinner at Bucca De Beppo for my mom.

He is officially a Jones.

Shamien Island 2012