A red rubber band . . .

This week YiLi has been going to vacation Bible School at our church.  So every night we ask her what she learned, what she liked best, what friends she was making, and so on. Tonight we were asking her if she has the same teacher every night, which she does. We were trying to figure out who she is from YiLi's description. YiLi's teacher is kind of young, kind of skinny, kind of light hair like Mommy's  . . . and she wears a red rubber band around her neck . . . yup, that's what she insisted on!

When we finally got to the bottom of it, and realized she meant red bandana, Rick and I burst into laughter. (Good thing YiLi is such a good sport! She just wanted in on the joke.) So Daddy was pretending to snap his neck and then he would laugh. When she finally understood what a rubber band was, she also broke out in free flowing hysterical laughter!

My mom is really really ill right now, and we are taking on a lot of serious tasks, even YiLi is visiting and helping out. So this was just SO GOOD TO full-belly laugh for quite a few minutes.

Between laughing together and finally mailing the 134 pages of response to our IRS examination for the adoption credit, it has been a good day at our house. 

Bandaid alert!

Mommy:  (approaching post office) YiLi, would you rather go up the stairs or the ramp?

YiLi:         The ramp! (I didn't even know she knew the word!)

Mommy:  (letting go of her hand) You go up the ramp, I'll go up the stairs, we'll meet!

YiLi:         OK!

Mommy turns her back to go climb the stairs, YiLi trips at the invisible incline on the ramp.

Note to self:   No more crazy ideas! Holding hands is fun and safe!

I guess since this is the first mishap in 7 months, we are doing pretty well, but I still feel like a less than stellar mama right now!

Those silent tears coming down are the worst! Harder to deal with than outright crying!

If you thought those were cute, look at these!

We got an unasked for surprise update on Sam just yesterday! We are so in love with this boy. Now we get to do all that "He looks like you . . ." , "he has YiLi's mouth and chin . . .". I know that's crazy, but we can't stop ourselves! We backed YiLi up to the "Great Measuring Wall" in our kitchen to see how tall she is in comparison to Sam. As you would expect, she looks 8 and he look 6! YiLi is 50" tall and Sam is 46.25" tall.  Oh, wait a minute, you want me to show you the pictures, don't you?! lol

YiLi says the "thing" in the middle of his forehead is a Chinese sticker . . . I hope she is right! He does look a little solemn in two of these pics, we wonder what he is thinking about? Is he missing his friend Jia who got adopted last December? Has he been told that he has a family and has started , within his understanding, on that long and sometimes difficult road of adoption? OK, maybe he just thinks it is pretty silly to be out on the playground without any other kids, getting his picture taken!

introducing Samuel Zhi Zuo Smedley AKA Sammy

Is he a sweetheart or what?! Love his sparkly eyes, love his sweet smile, his little wave bye to his best friend . . . He was at the bottom of my Mother's Day blog, but I am guessing nobody saw him, so he is getting his very own blogpost! We hope to travel before year end, but it may be January or February.  Can't come fast enough!

"I'll see you in London in 2009 . . ."

My sweet husband has had a life-long yet unrequited dream to visit London. He loves to study history, especially about the lines of kings and queens. So, back in 2006, the year of our marriage, I gave him a large volume entitled "Glorious Britain, Place of Legends", inscribed as above:
"Dear Rick - I'll see you in London in 2009, and we'll celebrate being 50 together!
                                                                                             Love, Traci
                                                                                             Christmas 2006

He was browsing this book tonight, and brought the inscription over for me to see. The sweet part I mentioned at the top is for this reason:

Instead of being sad or feeling unfulfilled because he has never fulfilled his dream of seeing London (and probably never will - we seem to keep "vacationing" in China!), he said to me, "Look at this - we had no idea at that time what God had up His sleeve  - something way more wonderful than seeing England".

Just sayin' - he's a sweet one!

Happy Birthday, Daddy - how old are you anyway?

Mommy:  YiLi, how old do you think Daddy will be on his birthday?
YiLi:         80?
Mommy:  (giggle a tiny bit) Not that many . . .
YiLi:         70?
Mommy:   Daddy will be 53! How old do you think Mommy will be?
YiLi:         something around 40 (that's my girl!)

Today we were talking about when all of our birthdays are. Daddy's is tomorrow, Sam's is May 25 (I wish we were together for his 6th birthday!), Grandma Grace's is May 27. I told YiLi that hers is in March, mine is in January, and Brittany's is next month in June.

Then I couldn't resist . . .

Mommy:  How old do you think Brittany will be?
YiLi:        30?

(Brittany will be 20!)

Yes, folks, I am 40 and my bio daughter is 30! 

Seriously, I am so thankful to be right here, right now, for such a time as this! Yes, I remember my younger days. I was blessed then, also. But I remember being much more preoccupied with things such as looks, clothes, trips, etc. Now we are just so thankful that God has blessed us with the privilege of being parents again (me) or for the first time (Rick).

For years we have planned a trip to London, England. My husband in particular has ALWAYS wanted to go there. But God had another plan, and I am thankful for a husband who releases a dream of a lifetime in exchange for hearing the still small voice of God to make room in our hearts and home for our children in China (number yet undetermined . . .).

So where do we go on "vacation"? Why, China, of course - can't wait!

Mother's Day came early at our house!

So many precious mom relationships . . . there's my mom and I, from my earliest memory on. Then there's Brittany and me for the last nineteen years. Now here comes my first Mother's Day with our beloved YiLi in our family, a special blessing I wouldn't have forecasted five years ago, that's for sure! God has blessed us mightily, and I give Him honor and praise for bringing us together.
And then there are all the mixtures, for lack of a better word, of all these people I love when they come together. Here are some examples of what I mean:

How did my Mother's Day come early? In a million different moments, that's how! Brittany came home from her first year of college today. We had fun cleaning the car together, yep, that's right, just pal-ing around! Then we came inside and I went to the piano so that YiLi could surprise Brittany with her song for her recital on May 21st - Do Re Mi from the Sound of Music. As YiLi finished her first verse and came into the second, all the sudden I heard my two girls singing the song together! It was a special mom moment - more special than any store-bought gift could be.

My mother is becoming quite frail lately. She rarely leaves her house, but last evening was YiLi's first grade concert on the stage at school. At great effort to herself, my Mom was there at that concert. She has always been there for me and she is still trying to be there for YiLi. It just doesn't get much better than this. Well, that is, until Sam comes home . . . so stay tuned for Mother's Day 2013!