Fall is in the air!

Fall is in the air!  The mornings are cooler, and we broke out our light weight jackets for the girls.  They are all getting into the swing of school.  The big girls enjoy going to the local football games with Daddy, while the little girls and I invest that time in manicures, pedicures, and movie night!  It is quite a “divide and conquer” routine, but sometimes that works out best for our family.

Tomorrow is a huge achievement day for Jaci.  After two years of appointments, she finally gets her braces off!  When I look back at pictures, I am amazed at the transformation.  Jaci had an overbite and a cross bite.  Her braces actually changed her face structure.  Two years later, her smile is perfect.  I didn’t think she could get any more beautiful!    I will post some before/after pictures soon.  :)

This is picture week at school.  As with modern technologies, we get their pictures on a CD.  I’ll be sure to upload these as soon as we get them.  Kinnley is making friends at school and church, and learning her alphabet and simple site words.  She struggles a bit at the concept of letters.  I have to wonder if her being in kindergarten in China was a blessing or not.  She knows her basic math skills, which is great.  But she struggles in sounding out words sometimes.  Chinese writing is simply “pictures” that make up a word.  A stroke of writing does not equate to a sound.  New concept, this phonics thing.  But I am sure it will “click” soon. 

Halloween is coming up soon.  I am a procrastinator by nature and usually wait until Halloween is upon us to frantically shop for costumes.  But this year, we are ahead of the curve.  I can’t wait to post pictures of Lainie and Kinnley in their outfits.  I won’t say what they picked out, but let me say they are TOO cute!  Kinnley was confused about why we said she could not wear her costume or play with her loot bag.  But after we hit the first few houses and she gets some treats, she will be fully on board.  Kailee and Jaci say they are too old to dress up, but have plans to take the dogs along and will dress them up.  This could be interesting!  J

Christmas is absolutely my favorite holiday!  It seems early to start thinking about Christmas, but being involved in Operation Christmas Child kicks things off quickly.  This organization gathers shoeboxes and sends them all over the world to underprivileged children.  The boxes contain basic hygiene, candy, toys, school supplies, etc.  This year, we had a teen speaker come share how she received one of these boxes years ago while she was an orphan in Russia.  She was later adopted by a family in Texas.  Her story was amazing, and hit very close to home.  She told how the orphanage was gray and cold, with broken windows.  She talked of the bullying, and how the smaller kids were picked on.  They only took showers once a month, and if they had lice, their heads were shaved.  She was so excited to get this little shoe box full of items.  She remembered mostly the candy, rainbow colored slinky (the only bright colors in the orphanage), and having a toothbrush of her very own (so she wouldn’t have to share her toothbrush with all the other kids).  When we got home, the girls recounted her testimony to their dad.  It was interesting to hear them say they were so glad they didn’t live in an orphanage.  Later, I asked Kinnley if she had a toothbrush in China.  “No Mama” was the immediate answer.  I asked “did you have a hairbrush or comb?”.  Again the answer of “No Mama”.  She always looked well groomed in her pictures, so I have to assume they had a “family comb” in her foster home.  Sometimes we need to hear these stories to realize how blessed we truly are here in America.  We are able to supply for all our childrens’ needs, plus a few wants.  As a church, we are planning to pack over 400 boxes for Operation Christmas Child at our packing party.  We have donations to cover a toothbrush for each box.  For some reason, I am burdened to make sure we have enough combs for every box.  Could it be that a little child somewhere around the world lost that important possession?  Or maybe they just want one of their very own?  We could never imagine our child asking for a comb for Christmas.  But in other parts of the world, this could be an answered prayer.

My friend in Scotland is making her yearly pilgrimage to Desheng orphanage, where Kinnley is from.  She offered to take pictures and a letter to the foster family.  We gladly took her up on the offer.  Kinnley asked that we tell China Mama that she is happy and going to school.  She also told me that China Mama made good dumplings, noodles, and rice.  I guess she is hoping my Chinese cooking skills will improve!  Ha!  We are hoping to hear back that the orphanage will submit the paperwork for Avery (Kinnley’s foster brother), allowing him to be snatched up by some wonderful family!  We have lots of pictures and offered to share with any family that is interested in him.  It would be awesome if these two could somehow stay in touch. 

In other adoption news, the Aldrich family is in the process of adopting again!  There is a link on the left hand side to their blog.  We met this wonderful Christian family while adopting Kinnley in Nanning.  They adopted little Jackzhen, who was three.  Like us, they had three other children.  They are now adopting little Jessa, who will be four when they get her in the spring.  She is just precious!  We are waiting and watching from the wings, helping pray this little one home.  :)