keep those wagons rollin'...Raawhiiiide! I think this should be our motto for life......just keep those wagons rolling, up hills and down, through the valleys, fording small streams (the little problems of life) or the deep rivers (bigger issues), to come out on the other side ready to continue the journey.
Basketball games have begun, so our evenings are full fitting in dance, games, Christmas events, etc. James is starting varsity this year as a sophomore and Jr and I love to watch him play; it's always great to watch your kids do well at something they enjoy. We hope to convince NingNing to play baseball, basketball, or even both, if only to get him out doing something and off the computer. I think I've lined up a piano teacher, so that will add to the mix in January.
Judi's doing great in her basketball and has finally grown enough to make baskets with no trouble. Amazing what a year and a couple of inches make! Jazmin is also doing basketball this year and has started practices with games in January.
Jessica's been accepted to State Fair Community College and will use the A+ program to start her college career there; in her words, she is "looking forward to getting out of the house"! And Jaz has decided she will "move" into Jessica's room when she is not there, lol!
Still can't figure out what really happened during Thanksgiving to NingNing, but he's back to "normal", so to speak. As December gets into full swing, he's not really taking an interest in Christmas so far. We went to get our tree this last Sunday (we go to a tree farm) and got it set up in the living room, but all he really seems to want to do is play on the computer lately. At least we got another family picture that I will post on the blog once I get it uploaded.
Sunday night there was a Christmas event in our small town I wanted to do with the family. Ok, so there wasn't anything for the boys to do, and yes, they were bored, but still........it's family time, right?
James is more vocal of course and made his opinion clear, while NingNing demonstrated his feelings by playing in the syrup from his pancakes and having the most hangdog, dreary expression on his face. This is his version of "pouting". He doesn't act up, doesn't have tantrums, doesn't get angry, just "suffers" through whatever it is until he can return to his beloved internet. Finally, I got sick of looking at their glum faces and just told Jr to take them home. I try to keep in mind that NingNing is not used to doing things WITH family and AS a family (a foreign concept to him), but as time goes on, we do and will expect more of him in this respect.
The next afternoon, I sat him down and had a "discussion" with him (I had the same talk with James). I asked him if he knew why I was unhappy the previous night when I got home and he knew (James had warned him that they were in "trouble", lol!). I told him exactly how I felt, that my boys tended to lend more importance to their computer and video games than family/family time. I made it clear that family time is very important to me and I want to spend time with my sons because I love them. And while I understand that they are boys and love their electronics (he agreed with me that we allow him plenty of computer time), family comes first and families spend time together. I also told NingNing that I love the Christmas season and want to make his first one special.
Basically ended up by saying, if I get my much-needed family time...with NO pouting or fussing....then boys get their computer time; everyone's happy! Remember, the old saying "If Mama ain't happy, NO ONE is happy!" James, ever the quick wit, amended that to say "but the reason Mama isn't happy, is because the kids aren't happy, and their griping is what makes Mama unhappy in the first place!" Found out later that Jr had a scaled-down version of the same talk with the boys before I got home with the girls that night, so they were "primed" for my talk,lol!
One thing that was sweet though, no matter what caused it...that night, after I came home, I was sitting at the kitchen table just thinking with my head on my arms. NingNing passed by me, reached out, and rubbed my back as he went by, finishing up with a little pat; the first truly spontaneous (unasked for, unsolicited) gesture of affection and empathy. And as a mom to teens, who dispense hugs, kisses, and affection as rarely as my chances of winning the lottery, I soaked it up.
Consider stepping "outside the box" and adopt a child...it will not only change that child's life, but yours as well.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Not fun and games anymore.....
For our detractors, who said "you're crazy", when we announced we were adopting a teenager, this post will probably make them smile, pat themselves on the back, and say "I told you so".
But neither will I paint sunshine and roses all the time, when it's not.
At some point since my last post, things have changed. Not horribly so, but enough so that I, at least, am concerned about NingNing (even more so than before now). After the initial jump start of using English, that I posted about on the 12th, he quit again, for no apparent reason.
Then this weekend, he's acting like he's totally detached from us; won't engage, won't respond verbally at all; basically doesn't want anything to do with us. And it all started apparently because Jr got on his case a bit about deleting pictures from my camera (a BIG no-no). Now, if one of the other kids had done it, we probably would have yelled at them, because they know better. We know NingNing does not necessarily, so my husband simply asked him not to, but didn't smile as usual when he said it, so N would know he was more serious this time.
Since then, we've had this "detached" behavior. I discussed the incident with him last night and thought we resolved it; I told him I love all my kids and like to take their pictures so I will have them to look at when they are all grown up. Perhaps it upset him to be reminded of when he would be on his own someday? Perhaps the idea frightens him? Certainly understandable, but it's a fine line between allowing him some "space" and condoning rude behavior (ignoring us as much as possible all day). Is he a typical teen? Oh yeah! Teen attitude? Yeah, it's there! Are the rose-colored glasses beginning to crack? Definitely....
So here I sit, at 4am, typing, worrying, considering,thinking, worrying some more........if our bio son were acting this way, we'd let him have his space, but eventually demand at least a minimum of respecful behavior. We expect no less of NingNing at this stage of the process.
The biggest challenge is figuring out what the problem is when the person in question is not sharing their feelings; is he mad at us, mad at himself, both? Or is he depressed; sad; maybe missing when he celebrated holidays in China (though we know they didn't do much where he was). Or just maybe the whole family togetherness was too much; maybe he felt (even now) that he still didn't quite belong when we got on to him about the camera. It's like playing 20 questions, but with no real solution, and a lot more at stake.
But neither will I paint sunshine and roses all the time, when it's not.
At some point since my last post, things have changed. Not horribly so, but enough so that I, at least, am concerned about NingNing (even more so than before now). After the initial jump start of using English, that I posted about on the 12th, he quit again, for no apparent reason.
Then this weekend, he's acting like he's totally detached from us; won't engage, won't respond verbally at all; basically doesn't want anything to do with us. And it all started apparently because Jr got on his case a bit about deleting pictures from my camera (a BIG no-no). Now, if one of the other kids had done it, we probably would have yelled at them, because they know better. We know NingNing does not necessarily, so my husband simply asked him not to, but didn't smile as usual when he said it, so N would know he was more serious this time.
Since then, we've had this "detached" behavior. I discussed the incident with him last night and thought we resolved it; I told him I love all my kids and like to take their pictures so I will have them to look at when they are all grown up. Perhaps it upset him to be reminded of when he would be on his own someday? Perhaps the idea frightens him? Certainly understandable, but it's a fine line between allowing him some "space" and condoning rude behavior (ignoring us as much as possible all day). Is he a typical teen? Oh yeah! Teen attitude? Yeah, it's there! Are the rose-colored glasses beginning to crack? Definitely....
So here I sit, at 4am, typing, worrying, considering,thinking, worrying some more........if our bio son were acting this way, we'd let him have his space, but eventually demand at least a minimum of respecful behavior. We expect no less of NingNing at this stage of the process.
The biggest challenge is figuring out what the problem is when the person in question is not sharing their feelings; is he mad at us, mad at himself, both? Or is he depressed; sad; maybe missing when he celebrated holidays in China (though we know they didn't do much where he was). Or just maybe the whole family togetherness was too much; maybe he felt (even now) that he still didn't quite belong when we got on to him about the camera. It's like playing 20 questions, but with no real solution, and a lot more at stake.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Our son said "I love you".......
to the INTERNET GUY!!!!!
Let me explain.....the kids got home from school and lo and behold the internet wasn't working. NingNing and our 7-year old didn't know what to do with themselves. It turned out to be the best thing, because he and Judi and Jazmin all spent the afternoon wrestling, playing, tickling, and rolling around on the floor together. Then the girls latched themselves each onto a leg and NingNing was trying to walk with 100 lbs on his legs! He was in rare form tonight, bouncing around, playing with everybody...even Mom got in on the tickle fest (side note....this boy is getting strong! Mom won't be his wrastle partner too often, lol!).
Then Dad comes home from hunting and says "I'm hungry!", whereupon NingNing says "Me, too!". After we ate, our internet guy came over to see what was wrong.....he got it fixed and as he was walking out the door, NingNing says "yay..I love you!". I shut the door and headed right for the boy! I said, "NingNing! The INTERNET guy? I love you? Seriously?!!? What about Mama??!!" He laughed, looked at me, and said "I LOVE YOU!" This kid is hysterical.
Now on to an amazing development....NingNing can read English! A few nights ago, I was typing into Google Translate and he began to read some of the words, so I kept going...but this gave me an idea.
The next night I got out some Dr. Suess books, "Go, Dogs, Go" and "Hop on Pop". I gave the first one to NingNing, then I logged onto Google Translate. My intention was to type the words on the pages, translating them and providing instant comprehension. However, as we began, NingNing amazed me by reading a good deal of the words on his own! I wound up only typing the harder words to help him along.
Tonight we did Go, Dogs, Go again AND Hop On Pop. He had us laughing so hard because he uses this squeaky, high-pitched voice to read the words and it. is. hysterical! The video is of him reading one page....that's all we could get him to sit still for because he was chuckling so much!
I missed blogging on a couple of interesting and fun events....Oct. 20 we got together with the two other families of NingNing's friends, Zane and Seth. We were at the park for 5 hours! But it was such fun, and now that I think back, it was around then and after a sleepover at Seth'[s house the next weekend, that we noticed a change in NingNing. We think we are finally seeing the "real" NingNing; there is a noticeable change in his demeanor. He smiles more, laughs with us, is talking MUCH more, in Chinese AND English, and really engaging with all of us more, especially Jr. They tease each other and wrestle and are establishing a good bond; he just seems so much more relaxed. It's hard to explain; I mean, we thought he was doing well before, but now we see just how much more at peace he seems.
Lately, we were talking about China....he was showing us some pictures of his classmates and he was describing some of his life before. The conversation led us to the point where I felt comfortable asking him why he chose to be adopted and leave China. He stopped and thought a moment and then said...."I just wanted a home...."....after I gathered myself, I told him he had one now.....forever....and we are so glad he made that choice.
Let me explain.....the kids got home from school and lo and behold the internet wasn't working. NingNing and our 7-year old didn't know what to do with themselves. It turned out to be the best thing, because he and Judi and Jazmin all spent the afternoon wrestling, playing, tickling, and rolling around on the floor together. Then the girls latched themselves each onto a leg and NingNing was trying to walk with 100 lbs on his legs! He was in rare form tonight, bouncing around, playing with everybody...even Mom got in on the tickle fest (side note....this boy is getting strong! Mom won't be his wrastle partner too often, lol!).
Then Dad comes home from hunting and says "I'm hungry!", whereupon NingNing says "Me, too!". After we ate, our internet guy came over to see what was wrong.....he got it fixed and as he was walking out the door, NingNing says "yay..I love you!". I shut the door and headed right for the boy! I said, "NingNing! The INTERNET guy? I love you? Seriously?!!? What about Mama??!!" He laughed, looked at me, and said "I LOVE YOU!" This kid is hysterical.
Now on to an amazing development....NingNing can read English! A few nights ago, I was typing into Google Translate and he began to read some of the words, so I kept going...but this gave me an idea.
The next night I got out some Dr. Suess books, "Go, Dogs, Go" and "Hop on Pop". I gave the first one to NingNing, then I logged onto Google Translate. My intention was to type the words on the pages, translating them and providing instant comprehension. However, as we began, NingNing amazed me by reading a good deal of the words on his own! I wound up only typing the harder words to help him along.
Tonight we did Go, Dogs, Go again AND Hop On Pop. He had us laughing so hard because he uses this squeaky, high-pitched voice to read the words and it. is. hysterical! The video is of him reading one page....that's all we could get him to sit still for because he was chuckling so much!
And in other happenings.....
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| This is what happens when two skinny boys wrestle..they get tangled! |
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| James (our 15-year old) and a friend at their NHS induction ceremony...he is growing into a young man before our eyes. |
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| Our sweet babies playing in the leaves at Grandpa and Grandma's house |
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| NingNing enjoying a fire engine ride on Halloween |
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| Jessica at her college visit |
I missed blogging on a couple of interesting and fun events....Oct. 20 we got together with the two other families of NingNing's friends, Zane and Seth. We were at the park for 5 hours! But it was such fun, and now that I think back, it was around then and after a sleepover at Seth'[s house the next weekend, that we noticed a change in NingNing. We think we are finally seeing the "real" NingNing; there is a noticeable change in his demeanor. He smiles more, laughs with us, is talking MUCH more, in Chinese AND English, and really engaging with all of us more, especially Jr. They tease each other and wrestle and are establishing a good bond; he just seems so much more relaxed. It's hard to explain; I mean, we thought he was doing well before, but now we see just how much more at peace he seems.
Lately, we were talking about China....he was showing us some pictures of his classmates and he was describing some of his life before. The conversation led us to the point where I felt comfortable asking him why he chose to be adopted and leave China. He stopped and thought a moment and then said...."I just wanted a home...."....after I gathered myself, I told him he had one now.....forever....and we are so glad he made that choice.
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| Hangin' at the picnic (ok, I stole these pics from Seth's mom's blog-Richard takes awesome pics!). The soccer one they sent to me...it's my favorite! |
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| This is what NingNing is really like....a comedian! |
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| I love this picture! |
Friday, November 2, 2012
Halloween, school, and sleepovers
It is November...where has the time gone? 3 months will soon have passed since Gotcha Day. Soon we will explain Thanksgiving and Christmas to NingNing. We plan to approach these holidays from a Christian standpoint, that Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on all the blessings in our lives and Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, but that we celebrate God's love for us by giving presents to those we love. We'll also talk about Santa but in the vein of a mythical figure the girls still believe in as I can just imagine what NingNing might think about a fat man with a beard squeezing down a chimney (and what is a chimney anyway, he'd probably think) and leaving all these gifts. He would think we'd gone off the deep end for sure.
Over the almost two weeks since I've posted, we've continued with soccer practices and games, watched our son, James, be inducted into the National Honor Society, sent NingNing off on his first sleepover (at Seth's house), got Jessica signed up at her community college for the fall, saved one of our dogs from certain death (me getting in the middle of a dog fight-stupid, I know-but I saved our dog), and introduced NingNing to Trick or Treating.
One of my concerns over the last couple of weeks is how quiet and almost emotionless at times NingNing still seems with us. He is so animated around his friends, which is understandable, but as soon as he's back with just us, it's like a switch is flipped. He will still interact, but just very self-contained and quiet. I was beginning to fear attachment issues......I mean, unattachment doesn't have to be blatant, does it? Then something would happen; he would laugh or play a game with us, or wrestle with Jr or James, and I'd think, well, all is ok then.
One thing I've learned through (our) older child adoption experience, and perhaps it's just the worrier in me, is the roller coaster of wondering about the effect everything we do has on NingNing. In October, this was particularly bad for me as I second-guessed everything we did and said; I analyzed it all and would rehearse what I wanted to say if we needed to talk with him.
In the last week however, we've noticed Ning using much more English at home.....just single words or two strung together, but it's progress! It also has made things easier to communicate as he understands so much of what we say directly now. I have also made a conscious decision to just relax and let things unfold and work themselves out, which seems to be helping my ability to sleep!
Halloween night was the first time I think Ning opened up almost totally to us and showed us how silly he can be. We were at our church event and he catches my attention and says "go hoooooome!"(his current favorite phrase). Finally we head for the door and he's bouncing and skipping out the door, so I decided to have some fun and show MY silly side a little. So I said to him, "NingNing, I think we should go.......SHOPPING!". He stopped dead, grabbed his head with his hands, and in a hysterical voice I've never heard before, says "NOOOOOOOO". Then Jazmin gets into the act and says "let's go to.......SCHOOL!", whereupon he repeats his act. As we pulled away,we were all laughing our heads off by this time. We then stopped at a subdivision real quick to do some houses, and he goes. "NO......GO HOOOOOME!" in that same funny voice. Judi and Jessica got out to T&T, and Jaz talked Ning's ear off so much, he finally bailed from the car and went with the other two! I think he really had fun, but probably wouldn't admit it. He didn't want to dress up and wouldn't take any candy for himself. Not a big candy eater, but put a package of cookies or marshmallows near the boy, and they will be gone in a New York minute!
He had his first sleepover with his friend in the city (how come friends' houses are always more fun than home???) and had a blast, of course,complete with a pillow fight. However, I love the fact that when he wants to "GO HOOOOOME", he means our house, with us. How can that not make a person feel good, that this young boy, who didn't know us from Adam 3 months ago, now thinks of us as his family and our house his home?
School is going ok for the most part; one thing NingNing has had to learn is that what was ok in China is NOT ok here. For instance, one kid at school tries to be TOO much of a friend, and NingNing wanted to handle the situation as he would have in China....he would have punched the kid out. We trotted out the well-used spiel about how that is not acceptable and that HE would get in trouble and then MAMA would not be happy! Where he went to school, there were around 3,000 students. Fighting....oh, yeah.....bullying.....of course.....fend for yourselves?.....basic survival 101. Now he has to learn to turn the other cheek and also (and this is the biggie) trust an adult and/or authority figure to take care of the problem......he is making great strides in this area.
Another area we've had some progress is clothes. NingNing is now wearing sleep pants to bed...MUCH more comfortable than jeans! Then we took him to a happenin' store called Rue21; they have really hip clothes. I showed him some plaid shirts like the ones he brought from China, but he said no to them (puzzling). As kind of a joke, I pulled out a psychedelic black shirt with a huge ornate white cross on the front and back. To my utter surprise, he liked it and THEN picked out a white hat with a red cross of similar design (interesting that he picked a cross symbol) and has ACTUALLY worn them! Now to just work on new jeans :).
More pics will be coming soon!
Over the almost two weeks since I've posted, we've continued with soccer practices and games, watched our son, James, be inducted into the National Honor Society, sent NingNing off on his first sleepover (at Seth's house), got Jessica signed up at her community college for the fall, saved one of our dogs from certain death (me getting in the middle of a dog fight-stupid, I know-but I saved our dog), and introduced NingNing to Trick or Treating.
One of my concerns over the last couple of weeks is how quiet and almost emotionless at times NingNing still seems with us. He is so animated around his friends, which is understandable, but as soon as he's back with just us, it's like a switch is flipped. He will still interact, but just very self-contained and quiet. I was beginning to fear attachment issues......I mean, unattachment doesn't have to be blatant, does it? Then something would happen; he would laugh or play a game with us, or wrestle with Jr or James, and I'd think, well, all is ok then.
One thing I've learned through (our) older child adoption experience, and perhaps it's just the worrier in me, is the roller coaster of wondering about the effect everything we do has on NingNing. In October, this was particularly bad for me as I second-guessed everything we did and said; I analyzed it all and would rehearse what I wanted to say if we needed to talk with him.
In the last week however, we've noticed Ning using much more English at home.....just single words or two strung together, but it's progress! It also has made things easier to communicate as he understands so much of what we say directly now. I have also made a conscious decision to just relax and let things unfold and work themselves out, which seems to be helping my ability to sleep!
Halloween night was the first time I think Ning opened up almost totally to us and showed us how silly he can be. We were at our church event and he catches my attention and says "go hoooooome!"(his current favorite phrase). Finally we head for the door and he's bouncing and skipping out the door, so I decided to have some fun and show MY silly side a little. So I said to him, "NingNing, I think we should go.......SHOPPING!". He stopped dead, grabbed his head with his hands, and in a hysterical voice I've never heard before, says "NOOOOOOOO". Then Jazmin gets into the act and says "let's go to.......SCHOOL!", whereupon he repeats his act. As we pulled away,we were all laughing our heads off by this time. We then stopped at a subdivision real quick to do some houses, and he goes. "NO......GO HOOOOOME!" in that same funny voice. Judi and Jessica got out to T&T, and Jaz talked Ning's ear off so much, he finally bailed from the car and went with the other two! I think he really had fun, but probably wouldn't admit it. He didn't want to dress up and wouldn't take any candy for himself. Not a big candy eater, but put a package of cookies or marshmallows near the boy, and they will be gone in a New York minute!
He had his first sleepover with his friend in the city (how come friends' houses are always more fun than home???) and had a blast, of course,complete with a pillow fight. However, I love the fact that when he wants to "GO HOOOOOME", he means our house, with us. How can that not make a person feel good, that this young boy, who didn't know us from Adam 3 months ago, now thinks of us as his family and our house his home?
School is going ok for the most part; one thing NingNing has had to learn is that what was ok in China is NOT ok here. For instance, one kid at school tries to be TOO much of a friend, and NingNing wanted to handle the situation as he would have in China....he would have punched the kid out. We trotted out the well-used spiel about how that is not acceptable and that HE would get in trouble and then MAMA would not be happy! Where he went to school, there were around 3,000 students. Fighting....oh, yeah.....bullying.....of course.....fend for yourselves?.....basic survival 101. Now he has to learn to turn the other cheek and also (and this is the biggie) trust an adult and/or authority figure to take care of the problem......he is making great strides in this area.
Another area we've had some progress is clothes. NingNing is now wearing sleep pants to bed...MUCH more comfortable than jeans! Then we took him to a happenin' store called Rue21; they have really hip clothes. I showed him some plaid shirts like the ones he brought from China, but he said no to them (puzzling). As kind of a joke, I pulled out a psychedelic black shirt with a huge ornate white cross on the front and back. To my utter surprise, he liked it and THEN picked out a white hat with a red cross of similar design (interesting that he picked a cross symbol) and has ACTUALLY worn them! Now to just work on new jeans :).
More pics will be coming soon!
Friday, October 19, 2012
School pics!
It's been a bit since I posted, but life has continued as usual. NingNing is continuing to do well both at home and at school. He is already so different from when in China. Whereas in China, he didn't seem to be able to perceive situations where help was needed, now he willingly jumps in. He keeps himself organized and has a good standard of personal care. I just spoke with his math teacher yesterday and she said he is doing well in class and participates willingly...it's apparent he really enjoys math and though he said he wasn't good at it, neither I nor the teacher have seen evidence of it. The only thing he's struggled with so far is integers, positive and negative numbers. He's a voracious reader and we've managed to find several books in Mandarin for him for Reading class at school; he's even started on the Bible a little thanks to an app I found for my Xoom that shows the verses in Chinese and English at the same time.
He still prefers computer time over outside time, but we're working on that. We visited his friend SongSong last weekend and our families had a great time. We stayed outside all afternoon, playing washers and watching the "older" fellas take on James, Jaxon (NingNing), and Zane (SongSong). Tomorrow, all 3 families are getting together at the park to play and cook out....here's hoping for beautiful weather.
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| Jaxon (NingNing) - 8th grade |
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| Jazmin - 4th grade |
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| Jessica-senior |
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| Judi - 2nd grade |
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| James - sophormore |
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| Seth and Jaxon taken about a month ago.....ornery, but happy, boys! |
Monday, October 8, 2012
Two months ago.....
I met my new son for the first time. I remember being so nervous walking up the stairs to the office at the orphanage. My thoughts centered around "what if he doesn't like us?" "What if he changes his mind about being adopted?"
As we walked in, we saw a lady first and then from behind her stepped NingNing. My first two thoughts?......how handsome he was in person and how tall!
James and I smiled at him and said hello, but our guide rushed us into the paperwork, so there was no time for anything other than awkward smiles and trying not to stare at each other in fascination. NingNing was so nervous; my heart just went out to him; what an overwhelming position for a teenager to be in and to make such a life-changing choice! He knew he might never see China again and that life with us was a complete unknown, but he still bravely walked out the door with us.
I remember sitting crammed shoulder to shoulder in the back of the taxi on the way back to the hotel; me reveling in the nearness of him and he, I'm sure, wondering what lay before him. What was he thinking as we drove away from all that was familiar and safe? Was he thinking ahead to what his life would be like here or was he just taking each moment as it came? Someday I hope to ask him these questions.......
In just two short months (has it really only been 60 days??), he has left his homecountry, traveled to places he'd never been in China, climbed the Great Wall, flown on 7 airplanes, flown across the ocean, seen a beach in HongKong, became a United States citizen, gained a family complete with one brother, 3 sisters, grandparents, cousins, and a multitude of animals; started school (4 days after arriving home); discovered he likes ice cream, chocolate cake, spaghetti, and much more; began making friends at school; wore "official" pajama pants to bed; signed up for a soccer team, learned what an "alarm clock" is, and much, much more....
Could you have made such a momentous life-altering decision at that tender age? I'm not sure I could have...
As we walked in, we saw a lady first and then from behind her stepped NingNing. My first two thoughts?......how handsome he was in person and how tall!
James and I smiled at him and said hello, but our guide rushed us into the paperwork, so there was no time for anything other than awkward smiles and trying not to stare at each other in fascination. NingNing was so nervous; my heart just went out to him; what an overwhelming position for a teenager to be in and to make such a life-changing choice! He knew he might never see China again and that life with us was a complete unknown, but he still bravely walked out the door with us.
I remember sitting crammed shoulder to shoulder in the back of the taxi on the way back to the hotel; me reveling in the nearness of him and he, I'm sure, wondering what lay before him. What was he thinking as we drove away from all that was familiar and safe? Was he thinking ahead to what his life would be like here or was he just taking each moment as it came? Someday I hope to ask him these questions.......
In just two short months (has it really only been 60 days??), he has left his homecountry, traveled to places he'd never been in China, climbed the Great Wall, flown on 7 airplanes, flown across the ocean, seen a beach in HongKong, became a United States citizen, gained a family complete with one brother, 3 sisters, grandparents, cousins, and a multitude of animals; started school (4 days after arriving home); discovered he likes ice cream, chocolate cake, spaghetti, and much more; began making friends at school; wore "official" pajama pants to bed; signed up for a soccer team, learned what an "alarm clock" is, and much, much more....
Could you have made such a momentous life-altering decision at that tender age? I'm not sure I could have...
Monday, October 1, 2012
A post from NingNing (what I imagine he might be thinking).
So.....I've been here for what seems like a long time, but really it's not even two months! Everything is so different. The food is ok, but kinda boring after the hot stuff I'm used to. The lady my brothers and sisters call "Mom" tries hard to make Chinese food many times and she has a list of foods I don't like. I'll try any food once; we had something called "Taco Bell" yesterday. I ate everything because I was hungry but it's not my favorite. People in America eat a lot of sweet stuff; some of it's ok, and some is just too much. The chicken sandwich at the eating place with the big yellow "M" is good and I really like chocolate-flavored things! "Mom" sticks these things called "chocolate chips" in something called "pancakes" and they are good.
People here change clothes every day! No wonder they are always stuffing clothes in that big white thing that washes them! I like my clothes from China, they make me feel more comfortable. "Mom" and "Dad" don't make too much of a fuss about it except when "Mom" wants me to dress nicer for church or something. A few weeks ago, we had pictures at school; talk about embarrassing!
The father of the family, who they call "Dad", is goofy a lot and so is my brother. Sometimes it can get pretty crazy and loud around here, but my family laughs a lot, so that's good. My little sisters are cute and sweet, but can be kind of annoying too. Oh, did I mention the LOUD thing?? Those two little girls get going and even having earphones in doesn't help!
Don't know what to think about school, still working it all out. I'm trying to learn English as fast as I can, but sometimes it feels as if my head will explode! Everyone seems very nice, and have helped me a lot. Some days though, I just can't wait to get home and talk to my friends on QQ or watch a movie in Chinese to give my head a rest. When my parents told me there was no school today, I was soooooo happy!
On Sundays, we go to a place called "church". It's confusing. They sing a lot and then a guy gets up and talks for awhile about someone named God and Jesus and then we sing again (I don't; NOT a good singer!). I was pretty much lost until "Mom" (still not ready to say that out loud yet) got a function on her little internet tablet that has a Chinese//English bible; it shows both languages at once; she had it up while the guy up front was talking and it was kinda cool. At least it kept me from falling asleep!
My family is busy; we are always driving someone somewhere it seems. That includes me, since I'm playing soccer now. It's ok, but I'm not used to so much running and my legs are so sore after some of the games! Like tonight, we played against this really fast team and we just couldn't score against them. I almost had a goal, but it went just a little wide; I hate it when I do that!
A couple weekends ago, my best friend, ZhangYun, stayed the weekend with us; that was great! My parents asked if I wanted to spend the night at his house in November; of course I said YES! Then this last Saturday, SongSong and his family came to watch my soccer game and then came to our house for dinner. We had a good time watching Chinese movies while SongSong's sisters played with my sisters on their video game system and our parents talked (probably about us!).
I thought SongSong's new family was very nice.
It is so great having my friends close to me. They are the only people in my life who have been there for as long as I can remember. I couldn't believe it when ZhangYun's family came to get him; it kind of scared me. I mean, yeah, we had all 3 said yes to adoption, but I guess we really didn't expect it to happen because we are older kids and people usually pick the little, cute kids. I knew both ZhangYun and Songsong had families, but it wasn't until ZhangYun's family Skyped with him that I found out I had a family too! I still worried that something would happen and when ZhangYun really left, I was afraid I might never see him again. I don't usually cry but I did when he left.
By the time SongSong's family came, we knew my family was coming right after them, so I wasn't as sad knowing I'd see him soon in America, but it still seemed like forever until they came and then, there they were!
Better go, "Mom's" telling us to go to bed because we stayed up too late last night :)!
For more older adoption stories, click on the link below....
http://www.deathbygreatwall.com/
People here change clothes every day! No wonder they are always stuffing clothes in that big white thing that washes them! I like my clothes from China, they make me feel more comfortable. "Mom" and "Dad" don't make too much of a fuss about it except when "Mom" wants me to dress nicer for church or something. A few weeks ago, we had pictures at school; talk about embarrassing!
The father of the family, who they call "Dad", is goofy a lot and so is my brother. Sometimes it can get pretty crazy and loud around here, but my family laughs a lot, so that's good. My little sisters are cute and sweet, but can be kind of annoying too. Oh, did I mention the LOUD thing?? Those two little girls get going and even having earphones in doesn't help!
Don't know what to think about school, still working it all out. I'm trying to learn English as fast as I can, but sometimes it feels as if my head will explode! Everyone seems very nice, and have helped me a lot. Some days though, I just can't wait to get home and talk to my friends on QQ or watch a movie in Chinese to give my head a rest. When my parents told me there was no school today, I was soooooo happy!
On Sundays, we go to a place called "church". It's confusing. They sing a lot and then a guy gets up and talks for awhile about someone named God and Jesus and then we sing again (I don't; NOT a good singer!). I was pretty much lost until "Mom" (still not ready to say that out loud yet) got a function on her little internet tablet that has a Chinese//English bible; it shows both languages at once; she had it up while the guy up front was talking and it was kinda cool. At least it kept me from falling asleep!
My family is busy; we are always driving someone somewhere it seems. That includes me, since I'm playing soccer now. It's ok, but I'm not used to so much running and my legs are so sore after some of the games! Like tonight, we played against this really fast team and we just couldn't score against them. I almost had a goal, but it went just a little wide; I hate it when I do that!
A couple weekends ago, my best friend, ZhangYun, stayed the weekend with us; that was great! My parents asked if I wanted to spend the night at his house in November; of course I said YES! Then this last Saturday, SongSong and his family came to watch my soccer game and then came to our house for dinner. We had a good time watching Chinese movies while SongSong's sisters played with my sisters on their video game system and our parents talked (probably about us!).
I thought SongSong's new family was very nice.
It is so great having my friends close to me. They are the only people in my life who have been there for as long as I can remember. I couldn't believe it when ZhangYun's family came to get him; it kind of scared me. I mean, yeah, we had all 3 said yes to adoption, but I guess we really didn't expect it to happen because we are older kids and people usually pick the little, cute kids. I knew both ZhangYun and Songsong had families, but it wasn't until ZhangYun's family Skyped with him that I found out I had a family too! I still worried that something would happen and when ZhangYun really left, I was afraid I might never see him again. I don't usually cry but I did when he left.
By the time SongSong's family came, we knew my family was coming right after them, so I wasn't as sad knowing I'd see him soon in America, but it still seemed like forever until they came and then, there they were!
Better go, "Mom's" telling us to go to bed because we stayed up too late last night :)!
For more older adoption stories, click on the link below....
http://www.deathbygreatwall.com/
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