Overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's - Finally

So it finally happened.  It took 5 1/2 years but it finally happened.  My mom has been waiting for 5 1/2 years for G-Man to stay overnight with them at his own request.

I think it was the week after we brought him home from China at 2 1/2 years old when Mom first asked me when he could stay overnight with them.  I gently explained that it would be months if not years before that would happen.  I explained (again) about the importance of bonding and attachment and trust.  She understood and, of course, wanted the best for him.  But it's always been in the back of her mind.  Mind you, the older grandkids were at their house nearly every weekend since they were born.

I've asked G-Man over the years if he was interested in staying the night with my parents.  He wasn't until last night.  It was his idea.  He just turned 8.

We had a dinner to go to for my work and we had planned to pick him up afterward.  He told me he thought he might like to stay overnight.  What?  It took alot of discussion and, for us, a leap of faith in a way.  Of course, we trust my parents completely.  It's just that we really enjoy having him around and all those "what ifs" in the back of our minds gave us fodder for doubt.  Maybe it would be better if we waited...

So we bit the bullet and let him stay.  The house seemed so empty.  We didn't know what to do.  We just looked at each other when we got home and it was...quiet.  If this is what an "empty nest" feels like then I want no part of it for a damn long time.  G-Man can live with us until he's 35 as far as I'm concerned.

The ice is broken.  I wonder how long it'll be until he wants to stay overnight again.  I hope it's a while because I need to get over this one first and it may be a while.  :)

Catching Up

So, it seems I've got some catching up to do!  Our little G-Man isn't so little any more.  He turned 8 recently.  Yes, 8!!  He's been home 5 1/2 years now and I honestly cannot remember life without him.  It's a wonderful amnesia to have.  OK, maybe I do have a spotty memory of pre-Momma days but today is what I live for. 

I'm embarassed that it's been so long since I've posted but I seriously want to start posting more.  We'll see how it goes.  :)

For now, this is it.  But if you read this, please come back by another time and see what's cookin'.

Stupendous

Stupendous! G-man said my throw was stupendous! (I tossed a hand towel to my husband) It's amazing to hear the new words coming out of his mouth. I think he must be watching "Martha Speaks" more often than I thought!

Speaking of "Martha", G-man asked me the other day what happened to our food when we ate it. He asked if it went up into our brains. I cleared that up quickly explaining where food really goes. He thought since the alphabet soup floated up into Martha's brain enabling her to talk that it might do the same for us. No matter that Martha is a cartoon dog!

Today was picture day at school. I made G-man promise me that he would actually smile today. Last year he frowned for pictures and I ended up not even buying the pics. This year it's a whole new ball game. We have to pay up front so I'm hoping they're good pics. Time will tell...

You know, I mean to post here way more often than I really do. I write these blogs in my head but I'm never near a computer. I supposed the answer is to make notes and then I won't forget the best stuff - the really funny stuff that G-man says.

I've got that itch again...no not THAT one! I need to do something creative! If I don't do something every so often I get edgy, unsettled, out of sorts. I pulled out my yarn and crochet hook so I'll see what comes of it. I've been taking pictures more lately too. I really would like a new digital camera - one of those SLR type cameras with interchangable lenses. Love the close-ups. Saw some photographs posted at Mott yesterday when I went up to take my test. Some were stunning, some not so much. It's such a fascinating medium. I've been hooked for over 30 years. Wow, that's a long time...

OK, it's time to turn in. My body is tired and 5:30am will be here way too quickly!

Happy Family Day!

Today is a very special day for our family! Three years ago today we walked into a Civil Affairs office in China and saw our son for the first time in person. I nearly passed out walking down that long hallway that lead to the last room on the right. The floor was very shiney and I am pretty sure I was on my way to hyperventilation. As I walked down that hallway I remember thinking "what are we getting ourselves into? what if he doesn't like us? what if he doesn't attach and bond to us?". I got nauseus, my heart was about to jump out of my chest. Then I reminded myself that God brought us this far and He wouldn't have done it if it weren't meant to be. He lead us to Griffin. I believe that with all my heart.

We walked into that room expecting him to be late as they had a 2 hr drive from the SWI. There he sat on the table with a rice cracker in his hand. He was so little and so adorable. I already loved him but when I saw him I just totally fell head over heels in love with him! His nanny told him who we were and then he offered both of us a bite of his cracker. At that moment I knew it would be ok.

Cleatus was so cute. He had taken a video of the dogs to show to Grif and I think he was so nervous that he didn't know what to do so he got the video camera out and showed him the video. Grif wan't impressed. We had taken a little backpack for him with toys, snacks & books in it. He wasn't too interested in that either. Looking back he just looked shell-shocked. Actually, we all did! We signed some paperwork and asked some questions of the nanny and assistant director before they left. Then there we were with this little boy who didn't know us and whom we really didn't know. It was crazy. I was TERRIFIED! I prayed ALOT! Constantly!

We left the office and went directly to a supermarket to get snacks and supplies. Grif fell asleep in my arms on the way to the store. (so precious!) We put together a lunch from what we had in the room so that we could just be there as a new family.

I just stared at him, drank in those first few hours. We have pictures and video of this time. I called my Mom even though it was very late at home. I remember saying "we have him" and then starting to cry tears of joy. She was crying too. (I'm crying now...) Part of that conversation is on the video that Cleatus was shooting of Grif. It's very surreal to watch it now.

I just can't believe it's been 3 years! It seems that these 3 years have passed more quickly than that 11 months when we were waiting. That was the LONGEST 11 months of my life! Now my baby is 5 1/2 and getting ready for kindergarden. I'm not who this is possible!

I need to get some pictures together and send them to his SWI. I know they love to get updates of the kids. There is a very sweet woman at work who speaks and writes Chinese who has offered to translate a short letter for me to include so that we can tell the SWI staff how Grif is doing now.

We celebrated this evening with a dinner out with my brother and sister-in-law. Here birthday was a couple days ago so it was a double celebration. This was a low key celebration but we did get Grif a gift that he's has his eye on for several months. It's a "big red T-Rex" and he's very cool. Grif must have told us 100 times how much he loves the dino and thanked us for it. We talked about Family Day and how special it was to us. I really think he understood even though he doesn't really remember that day.

So, Happy Family Day to us! Happy Gotcha Day! My dreams came true 3 years ago today. I'm a mom!

Fortune Cookies

My son loves Chinese food. You might think, "of course he does, he's Chinese". You would be partially correct. He is Chinese but he's also a normal American kid.

So, he and I made plans to go to our favorite Chinese buffet after church on Sunday. We had a yummy lunch, just the two of us, and it was a really nice time. The bill came with 2 fortune cookies so I told my son that I was going to read my fortune. He decided that he would "read" his fortune as well. My fortune was totally forgotten as soon as he read his.

He proceeded to read his fortune..."you can go to Toys-R-Us and get a new toy". How funny is that? I cracked up! My funny, clever little smartie pants son made a good attempt at going to his favorite toy store. No, we did not go to Toys-R-Us. I just couldn't let it be that easy for him or he would have worked it every time. Unfortunately.

Fun Day!

We had a fun day today! Grif and I got to sleep in and I took him to school late. I had an appointment and then caught a movie with my friend Monica (thanks Mon for the treat!). We saw "Killers" which was actually pretty good. Then I picked Grif up from school early today and we went to play putt-putt golf - his first time! He did pretty good actually. We didn't keep score but rather just had fun and took as many shots as needed (and that was LOTS!). We finished in style with an ice cream cone - a perfect ending to a fun day!

Band-aids

So, Grif has this thing about band-aids. He's gotta have them- on cuts, scrapes, rubs, scabs, anything that even remotely looks like it might be a boo-boo. So, I've fed his 'need' just to keep him happy. At first I tried to fight it but then I figured it was part of the small stuff I'm not supposed to sweat. Really, who cares if he has a band-aid or two on. Really...in the whole scheme of things it's really not a big deal.

Now we're nearly 3 years down the road and now that he understands more, we have a new rule. The rule is "No blood, no band-aid". A basic scrape just doesn't cut it anymore and he's pretty much OK with it.

Here's the funny part. My husband cut his finger with a very sharp knife this weekend. While we were in the pool his band-aid came off and he needed another to keep the cut clean even if it was no longer bleeding. He asked Grif to get him a band-aid. Grif walked over to him, looked at his cut which was clearly not bleeding, and stated quite matter-of-factly, "OK, but this is the last one". (this is exactly what I tell him when he wants another band-aid on his 5 day old scrape that's nearly totally healed) OK, it was hilarious, maybe you had to be there.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Yesterday we celebrated our parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. We went out to dinner without a whole lot of fanfare at the insistence of the guests of honor. Actually, we were threatened to NOT have a surprise party for them. Well, truth be told we we planning a surprise but didn't want to really piss them off so we scrapped the idea.

I am so happy for my parents, 50 years is such a long time. Lots of compromise I'm sure. I can only pray that Cleatus and I make it to 50 years, especially since we got married a little later than normal. Anyway, it's an event to celebrate and very special.

Turning over a new leaf

I am embarrassed that it's been so long since I've posted. I have decided that I'm turning over a new leaf and will try to post here at least once a week. Don't hold me to it but know that I'll do my best! I'm a busy mom...yes, I know I only have one child but, sheesh, I'm old! LOL!!

OK, now go back to what you were doing...talk to ya later!

Facelift

So, you've noticed that I've changed the look of the blog. It's quite simple to do so I've been playing with it. I tried on about 10 different ones before deciding on this one - and I'm not sure I really like this one either. I'm sure I'll change it from time to time.

What's up with our lives you ask? Well, alot has happened since my last post so I'll have to give you the 'Readers Digest' version. Christmas was so much fun! Griffin really understood what was going on this year. We ended up baking cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve and left cookies & milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. We had a blast doing that!

Grif had his post op check up recently and he's doing great. He will have the next surgery in about 5 months or so. We did find out that he has grown about 2 inches since his last visit to the clinic - just 3 1/2 months ago!!! No wonder none of his pants are long enough any more. Oh, and he's gained about 2 lbs in the same time frame.

We took a vacation recently and visited relatives that we hadn't seen in quite a long time. It was a really nice week - catching up with family and spending time with them. Grif got to meet some wonderful people and had a great time. I'll post pictures soon.

Grif's latest surgery

Here's our little cutie before surgery...we had just put up the Christmas tree and he was SO excited. He was literally jumping up and down! It was just pure joy and to watch it was such a treat.

Grif had his latest surgery on Wednesday, Dec 3rd. It was a tough one and the surgeons said they didn't do quite as much as they intended. They had done enough for one day. They did a bone graft on one side instead of two so as not to compromise the vascular integrity of the middle section where his two front teeth are. They took the bone/marrow from his hip so that area is by far more sore than his mouth. They also removed the flap that connected his cheek & roof of the mouth from the last surgery. And one more thing, they repaired an anterior fistula (hole in the front of the roof of the mouth) which they said was quite difficult. Apparently there is alot of scar tissue up there so we're hoping it will stay intact. There is always the chance that a fistula will develop, that happens. And last but not least, the ENT cleaned out his ears and said that they look good. The tubes that were put in Nov 2007 are now gone but one ear still has the hole from the tube but is expected to heal in the next few months.



His recovery is progressing well but he's having the most problem with his hip. It's very sore and has him walking like a slow little old man. He's starting to get back to his normal silly personality so we know he's getting back to normal.



We do have one more of these surgeries, to do the bone graft on the other side, in the spring of 2009. I'm not looking forward to that but at least we know what to expect and how long the recovery will be.

Initial post - boring.....

So here's my initial post. My intention for using this blog is to keep friends and family around the country and the world in touch with our lives. Come by and visit once in a while and see what's been going on. You can watch Grif grow before your very eyes just like we are!! How fun is that!!!!
Thanks for stopping by!