S to the Power Of Six!!!

2010-07-18T01:24:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone, this is Nancy. Scott & Shelby asked me to post a note here because they can't get to the blog or facebook so they're writing about their travels at http://www.stothepowerofsix.wordpress.com/ and will keep us all updated on their amazing journey bringing Saige home! Hopefully they can get on here to post travel notes and most importantly PICTURES! Can't wait to see a photo of the "S to the Power of Six!!!" family in one shot :-)

2010-07-15T22:53:00.004-04:00

Getting Ready to GO...

We are almost all packed and ready to go. The van will pick us up tomorrow from our house and take us up to JFK for our first leg of our trip to bring Saige home. We should be arriving in Kunming around 12:30 am local time on Sunday the 18th (Saxton's Birthday).

The next time you'll see a post from us, we will be in Kunming.

2010-07-09T20:18:00.002-04:00

Last Minute Update!!!

We just received new pictures of Saige today. Check them out:

Isn't she Beautiful?!!!!

2010-07-07T15:54:00.002-04:00

Travel Update!!!

We are leaving, on a jet plane....next Friday!!! We will be flying from JFK to Beijing then onto Kunming, arriving in the very early morning of the 18th. We get Saige the very next morning. We are so excited to bring to whole family to meet this precious little girl that we already have her suitcase packed.

Keep looking at the blog. Once we start this portion of our journey, I will be updating as much as possible.

2010-05-31T22:55:00.002-04:00

One Step Closer....

We had our "Travel Call" with our agency on Friday. This means we are close to traveling, right? Well, not exactly. We still have to get our Travel Authorization(TA), which is estimated to come to us in late June. Even after we get our TA, we still can not travel right away. Our agency is saying it has been taking three weeks to get an appointment at the US Consulate in Guangzhou due to the backlog during a recent world convention which was held in Guangzhou. I should of been paying attention, but I got lost at Consulate Appointment. If all plays out they way it looks like it could, we could be meeting our new addition in Kunming around the 26th of July. This would be four years and one week to the day we met Sawyer in the same city. We are very excited and now we are in a mad rush to get Saffi's passport and our Visas.

I know you are probably saying, "why did you wait so long to get Saffi's passport. That is very poor planning on your part." Well, the back story is we just completed her re-adoption in the US on April 30th and still had not received the necessary paperwork to complete the passport application until just this past week. So, let the mad rush begin.

Saffi is very excited to have a little sister and she was a great help when we rearranged her room to make it her and Saige's room. All we have to do now to get her room ready is put a step stool together and get the girls dressers (we ordered them, but the store ordered the wrong ones. We are waiting on the replacements).

To ease my tension, I wet out to Seattle last weekend and went deep sea fishing with some old friends.

We had a great time and we caught a lot of fish. What I mean by we is they caught a lot of fish, I caught a total of two ling cod, a halibut and three rock bass(the limit is ten bass). Everybody else caught there limit on bass.

A couple weeks ago, while Shelby was away on business, I took the kids outside and took some pictures for her Mother's Day gift. Here are some of those pictures.

Keep checking back for more updates. One the ball starts rolling on our trip, I will be updating more and more. Additionally, you all will be able to follow our trip, once again, right here when we bring Saige home.

2010-04-21T17:29:00.000-04:00

We Have our LOA!!!

82 Days after our Dossier was logged into CCAA, we received our LOA yesterday. We promptly signed it and sent it back today. If all goes well, we may be bringing Saige home in late June. We are over the hill with excitement!!!!

2010-03-29T22:38:00.000-04:00

Hello again....

Well, it has been awhile since I updated the blog and many people, mainly family members, have been asking me to get this thing updated. So, here is what's been going on over the last few months.

Saige is one step closer to coming home. We were logged into the CCAA on January 28th. So we should be getting our LOA here in the near future. We have been looking at furniture and playing with ideas for the girls' room. We haven't settled on anything, yet but we know at least there will be two beds. Figure that, two beds for two girls. Who would of thought? We hope to be traveling to bring Saige home in June or July. Depending on how it plays out, we could be in Kunming four years to the day we adopted Sawyer. Now that would be exciting.

Sawyer's vocalizations have been exploding over the last few months. He has gone from saying nothing, to saying close to 100 words. He has been uttering 3 to 5 word phrases on a regular basis. Even though most of them are hard to understand, we are ecstatic that he is finally talking and attempting to communicate with us. Enjoy this video.

During the kindergarten readiness testing at his daycare, he was one of the only kids who could identify all of his letters and count to thirty. We couldn't be prouder of him.

Saxton is also doing very well in his preschool class. Because of his cleft lip and palate, his speech has been delayed and unclear. But because of intense speech program he has been in, his speech has been becoming clearer and clearer by the day. That is Awesome. Both he and Sawyer have also been growing like weeds. We just bought them 4T clothes in December and the pants already look like high waters. Guess what we are doing over the Easter weekend.

Saffi continues to make bigger and bigger strides in school. She has been doing very well in Math and her English is coming along very nicely. A lot of people find it hard to believe that she just came home just over a year ago. It has truly been an amazing ride. Saffi also has been involved in Daisies. Thank goodness for her involvement in Daisies, otherwise I don't know how I would have got my Girl Scout Cookie fix this year if she wasn't. Just a couple of weeks ago, we had a Father/Daughter dance. I had a lot of fun trying to teach her the Hooky Poky and the Chicken Dance.

As for us parents, Shelby has been trying to get her yearly traveling done before we head off to China to bring Saige home. I have been working for the phone campany again as a contract engineer. The best thing about my job is my commute. From the bedroom, down the stairs and to m our den. It's awesome to be able to work from home.

Between the snow and the rain storms, we have been trying to build a garden in our back yard. We are pretty excited at trying to grow our own herbs, vegetables and fruits this year. Should be exciting.

Anyway, here is what you people really come here for, pictures. Enjoy.
.

2009-12-27T16:56:00.015-05:00

Happy Holidays......

First of all, we have got to be the absolute worst people at making, writing and sending out Christmas Cards. I would like to take this opportunity to say, sorry about that. Anyway, this one way to make sure everyone knows what has been going on over the last year in our super busy, sometimes crazy, household.

First up, what can we say about Sawyer, Saxton and Saffi beside how good these kids look in pictures? They are just as good, most of the time, in person too. It has been a very busy year for all three of them.

This past year, we have seen a tremendous amount of improvement in Sawyer's behavior growth. For instance, last year at this time, he was not saying a word. Due to the fact that he has been in intensive speech therapy four times a week, he now can say over 40 words, consistently. This is huge for us. He can now call us Mommy and Daddy and tell us what he wants, verbally. He still will use his speaking device, but only if he is not getting his point across with his words. We are loving hearing his sweet little voice on a daily basis. It is sweet music to our ears.

Saxton has also been doing really well in school. His teachers have been really impressed with his imagination and drawing skills. Almost everyday he comes home from school with a new picture of his family. Of course he will tell us who is who in the pictures because sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the dogs and us. One of his favorite things to do is follow Saffi around. He will follow her from room to room and try to do everything she does. It can be really cute, sometimes. Health wise, he will have tubes put in his ears , for the forth time, on January 5th. Wish him luck!!
We have seen an unbelievable amount of progress with Saffi since coming home Thanksgiving of 2008. Everyone who has just met her always asks when did we bring her home. When we say, "just over a year ago," they take a step back in amazement. She is speaking fluent and correct English with very little problems. We do have to give credit to her amazing teachers she has had at her school. It was really rough in the beginning when Saffi did not want to do anything they were asking. But since February, she has been making enormous amounts of improvement. She is now helping other students in her class with math and, believe it or not, language and letters. We could not see a day without her -- she is our little Angle, who some time breaks out the pitch fork and horns just to ornery.

After going through the pictures from this past year, I have found some that I did not include on the blog. I have n o idea why..., oh wait..., that's right, I barely blogged this year. Hopefully next year will be different. Anyway, here are some of those pictures:

Sawyer's 5th Birthday picture from his daycare.

We celebrated Saffi's 8th Birthday on Christmas Eve with some friends. This was the forth time she blew out the candle since missed the first three time trying to find the camera.

At the end of the school year in June, Sawyer's and Saxton's daycare have a graduation ceremony for those children who are moving into kindergarten or first grade. At the end of the ceremony, Sawyer could not resist but to go up to the graduating bear and give him a big hug. Too Cute!!! Hey Mr./Ms. Bear, watch that hand!!!

Saxton and Saffi enjoying their first cup of hot chocolate on the train ride for Sawyer's birthday.

Finally, here are a couple pictures of someone most of you have not seen. Most of you know we are in the process of adopting our forth child. Introducing Saige Xue Lian.

Saige was born with tibial hemimelia and a missing digit on her right hand. Otherwise she is in perfect health. When she gets home, we will take her to Baltimore to see one of the leading doctors who specializes in limb differences, specifically, differences in the legs. We have already received her X-Rays and have sent them to this doctor who seems to be pretty optimistic about her treatment. This treatment could range from leg lengthening procedures to double amputation and prosthetics. But, of course, he will not know for sure until he sees her in person.

What makes this adoption even more special, she is from the same area as where Sawyer is from. She is currently in a foster village outside of Kunming, Yunnan, China. We can not wait to bring this little bundle of joy home in 2010.

We hope you all have had a wonderful Holiday Season and have a safe and Happy New Year.

Scott, Shelby, Sawyer, Saxton, Saffi and soon Saige.

2009-12-09T15:10:00.006-05:00

Happy Belated Birthday Sawyer...

A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated Sawyer's 5th Birthday. It is very hard to believe he is already five. It seems as if it was just yesterday that we saw him for the first time in the Civil Affairs Office in Kunming. How time does fly.

For his birthday, we took Sawyer to Strasburg, PA to ride on the Strasburg Railroad and to see Santa on the train.

As usual, he loved the train ride, but did not know what to think of Santa. (Santa not pictured).

We also went to the Thomas Store and let Sawyer pick out new pieces for his Thomas set. Of curse, he had to pick out the pieces that made the most noise. We wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy Birthday Sawyer. We hope you had a lot of fun.

2009-10-26T22:07:00.013-04:00

Too Busy to Blog...

I know you all are sick of hearing we have been too busy to blog, but we really have. Between me trying to work 40 hours plus a week, running the kids to school, speech or OT, I just can not find the time to keep up with the blog. Lately, I have found that many blogs we have followed have also fallen to the "too busy to blog" syndrome. Trust me, I understand why people stop blogging for months on end or all together. It's been getting crazier and crazier around her with Saffi joining the Daisies (Girl Scouts) and having Chinese School on Sundays. Sawyer has speech four days a week for an hour a day. Then he has OT for one day a week, soon to be two. Saxton stays home with me two days a week and has speech on both of those days. I need one of those machines Michael Keaton had in Multiplicity to duplicate myself so I can be in ten places at once. That would be great because it is about to get crazier around here.

Just over two weeks ago, we officially received word that we have our Pre-Approval for our little girl from Kunming, Saige. Now, we just need to finalize our Dossier and get it off to China. We are expecting to be able to bring Saige home in March or April. We can not wait for this very special addition to our clan. To make room for her to get around, we found a very nice, used Suburban with very low miles and at a very low cost. We are loving this vehicle.

Since our last post, Saffi got her cast off a week before school start and she is now in a brace for the next five months. Her foot is looking a lot better than when she came home. She is loving being able to run and jump again.

Shelby went over to Beijing, China on a business trip and got to do some site seeing. She saw the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Summer palace.
My parents were out here last week to visit with us and to see the fall colors of the East Coast. Unfortunately, the colors were not out like we hope and to further add to the disappointment, my dad ended up in the hospital for one night because he couldn't breath. So they had to stay for a couple extra days. When we weren't looking for colors or going the hospital, my dad, Shelby and I played many games of cribbage. I won my third game in five years of playing cribbage with these two. If there was a score board, it would read DAD 127; Shelby 75; Scott 3. Yea, you can say it, I stink at cribbage, but it is still a lot of fun to play.

Here are some pictures from last week.

2009-08-29T00:25:00.012-04:00

Summer Vacation in New England

Last weekend, we went to Massachusetts to visit with family and friends. We were hoping to spend a lot of time on the beach, but Hurricane Bill had better ideas. So we walked the beach as much as possible and then watch the surf almost wash the beach out to sea. It was pretty crazy. Anyway, here are some pictures from last weekend.

Waves generated by Hurricane Bill.A nice Hurricane Bill Sunset.

2009-07-21T21:28:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Saxton

Saxton Birthday was last Saturday. For his birthday, he got a guitar among other things. And being the smart kid he is, he decided to form his own rock band. Enjoy:

BTW-Saffi is doing great after her surgery. She should have her cast off within the next four to five weeks. Sawyer is making progress every day by talking more and more.

Update on number four. Last week we received x-rays of her legs and hand. Yesterday, we sent them to a doctor in Baltimore who specializes in tibial hemimelia. We should hear something soon on her diagnosis. Furthermore, we are one step away from getting our dossier ready to go to the agency. Cross your fingers, we are almost there.

2009-06-24T18:00:00.003-04:00

Saffi Had Surgery...

Saffi had surgery today on her left foot. She is resting comfortably in the hospital and is in fairly good spirits (translation: she is sleeping a lot with the help of the pain medication). She is expected to be released tomorrow afternoon to come home and start her recovery. The poor little girl will need to stay off her feet and for eight weeks. Luckily, the doctor ordered a wheelchair to be delivered to our house.

So, since mommy is staying the night with Saffi, the boys and I are going to tear up the....house. It's a bachelors pad for the night, which means pizza and...juice boxes for our lucky boys. Yummy, Yummy!!!

2009-06-03T07:02:00.004-04:00

So you know that Sawyer can Talk?

This is a description from his behavioral specialist:
At the present time, Sawyer is able to navigate the front page of the Dynavox-V and select the subject and verb. He is also able to go to the category icon, select the category and the item. He is very proficient at navigating these five steps. This enables him to make simple three word phrases which include a subject, verb, and object. We are working on introducing him to adding adjectives to his phrases and also to make comments using helping and action verbs. Sawyer is most proficient with “I want ____” and “I have _____” statements. We are presently working on expanding his statements to use a variety of verbs and adjectives and also with using correct syntax order.

We are very excited that Sawyer now has a way to communicate his needs and want to us without getting frustrated. He has been using the Dynavox talking system at school and at home. It is amazing to watch him navigate through the pages of information on this system. We are very proud of our little man. You go Sawyer.

2009-05-18T07:35:00.005-04:00

So, What's the BIG News?

Well, actually we have a few things. First, Saffi will be having surgery to repair her left foot on June 24th. She is actually kind of excited to have this done, which is a big surprise to me. Unfortunately, this also means she will be in a cast all summer long. If anyone has spent a summer in the Mid-Atlantic states, you will know that that will not be very fun with the high humidity and heat. Thank God for air conditioning.

Next, Saxton will also be home all summer. We will be pulling him from daycare effective July 1st to spend time bonding with Saffi and Daddy.

Sawyer is POTTY TRAINED!!!! It has been a very long and difficult road to get Sawyer potty trained, but over the last week, he has had very few accidents while in his big boy pants. He will be in summer camp and have his program continued through the summer.

Finally, some have guessed, some have wished and some think we should be committed to a mental institution, but we are in the process for our forth and final child. She is a little girl from Kunming, Yunnan, China. For many of you who have watched this blog from the beginning, you may remember that this is the same orphanage as where Sawyer is from. Per CCAA guidelines, we can not give too many details until after we have received Pre-Approval (PA), but here is what I can tell you. She is a beautiful little girl with a bright smile and an adorable face. She looks a lot like Sawyer. She is currently in foster care and well taken care of. We are in the very early stages of the process and should be submitting our Letter of Intent (LOI) within the next couple of weeks. We will post pictures after we have received (PA).

Have a great week.

2009-05-14T16:56:00.001-04:00

Be very,very quiet....

Something is in the works. Stay tuned!!!

2009-04-26T18:54:00.014-04:00

It's coming up on six months....

On May 19th, Saffi will be home with us for six months. That seems crazy to me, it seems like she has been here a lot longer than that. She has adjusted very well, over all. We have not had a tantrum in well over a month.

She also has taken charge. She loves to wipe the table down before we eat, she help Sawyer and Saxton get into their car seats before we go anywhere and she loves to help daddy fold laundry. Last Thursday , was her first day of Art class after school. I was a little apprehensive about this at first, not knowing how she would adjust to the change in her schedule, but she loved every minute of it. Her English is also doing remarkably well. She has started to tell jokes and make fun of Mommy and Daddy. We are truly blessed and lucky to have such a special girl in our lives.

On a more somber note, Saffi will be having surgery on June 24th to correct her foot. We are excited for this surgery, but also very depressed. While she will be getting her foot straightened, she will have to be in a cast for up to twelve weeks during the long and humid Mid-Atlantic summer. This also means that we will not be getting our pool membership this year because it would not be fair for her. It would be like torture to watch the boys go frolic and play in the nice cold water of the pool, while she just sits out in the sun, getting tan and people watching...wait a minute, isn't that what girls do anyways? Needless to say, I think we will get one of those small inflatable swimming pools and let her sit in that to cool off during the summer. Anyways, I sure we will find a way to keep her entertained while she is on crutches and in her cast, which will be up to her thigh, for the summer. At least she will not have to worry about it when she goes back to school.

As for the rest of the family, Sawyer is still amazing us every day. This past week, out of the blue, he started forming three word sentences. Some of the words are clear as day, while some of the other ones we are still working on.

Saxton is also saying more and more every day. I was talking to him yesterday and he was telling me a story that he just made up. While his speech is still not completely clear as day, he has been forming complete, multi-word sentences like he was an old pro at it.

Lately, we have been taking some hike through this little area of woods near our house. Sometimes the hike is only an hour. The day I took the following pictures, We made a wrong turn (Daddy not reading the map) and it took almost three hours. We were very surprised that the kids hardly even complained. They loved the ponds, the trees and the birds they saw. It was a great family experience. Enjoy the pictures and the little story.

One day, our hardy explorers wanted to go for a hike:
The family drove to the woods near by and said, "this would be a great place for a hike." But the kids were unsure of what they were getting into.
A one hour hike, turned into a two hour hike, then a three hour hike all because Daddy forgot how to read a map. Saffi was scared and leaned to Sawyer for support:
The kids got scared and started to run back in the direction of the car as fast as they could.But, Saxton said, "I am not scared, I will go forward and find our way out of this place."Then realizing that they didn't know where the cars was, Sawyer climbed to the tallest tree to see over the forest to find our way home.
Saxton was happy that Sawyer found a way out of the forest and gave us a big smile.
Saffi was also delighted because she saw they way out with her binoculars. Then she joked with her brother that this is way women always ask for directions.At the end of the day, our little heroes gave us one of the best presents ever, a nice group picture of the three of them in their new wonderland.

2009-03-20T12:00:00.007-04:00

SAWYER CAN READ!!!!

That's right, even though our son is non-verbal autistic, he can read!! Last Friday, during his speech class, the teacher accidentally dropped a flashcard on the floor. The flashcard landed on the floor with the word side up. Sawyer looked down at the card, which said ARM, and pointed to his arm while making a vocal approximation of the word arm. This is very exciting news to know that our 4 year old can sight read some words.

Saxton is doing really good after his tonsillectomy. I think the pain killers were a hit with him since he hardly ever complained about his throat hurting. He was out of school for almost two weeks and finally went back yesterday. All of his friends and teachers were very happy to see him return to class and he loved being there too.

We have been hearing nothing but good things from Saffi's school. Last week, a teacher said that she was helping other students in the class with their math homework and she was raising her hand to answer questions. Her English language is improving remarkably well, too. She has been speaking more and more clearer as the days go by. It is amazing to watch her speech develop at such a fast pace. You go girl!! It's been two months since her last breakdown at school, let cross our fingers that that was the last one.

Saffi has also been doing a lot of wonderful things while at home. When she gets home from school, she immediately does her homework and helps get the table ready for dinner. Both her and Saxton try to fight over who gets to wipe down the table. So I usually end up being the moderator and asking one to wipe the table and one to wipe the chairs. That makes them both very happy to see their accomplishment and I can not lie, me too.
Have a great week.

2009-03-09T07:35:00.008-04:00

Saxton's Surgery

Saxton and mom are on their way down to the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia to have Saxton's tonsils removed. To give you an idea, his tonsils are the size of a shooter's marble. They are huge!! We will keep you informed on his progress.

As for the rest of the family, everyone is doing great. Saffi is settling in very nicely. We where having one to two meltdowns a day fro a while there, but over the last two months, we have had only three. It is really nice to see her smiling everyday when she wakes up and comes down the stairs, now. She is a very beautiful little girl. Also, over the last month, she has had two fillings, one tooth removal and one cap. But, she is not done. We go next week for her last two fillings, then we are all done (hopefully) for the next six months.

Sawyer is continuing to progress with program at school. He is now making approximations of several words and letters. He is also writing the letters F, S and O. This is a tremendous progress from even six months ago when he wasn't saying anything.

Well, we have been really busy (our common excuse), but I have been taking pictures. I need to find out why those videos of Saxton and Saffi are not working. It's annoying. Any suggestions?

Congratulations to our friends Chip and Holly who have been waiting three very long years to meet their daughter. Today, they got to hold her for the first time. Here's to you Chip and Holly!! (I am holding my coffee mug up because it's too early to drink a beer).

Pictures of Saffi, Sawyer and Saxton:

2009-02-20T11:13:00.003-05:00

A Cute Saxton Moment....

Enjoy:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2009-02-16T14:33:00.004-05:00

Saffi Sings....

The other night, out of the blue, Saffi began to sing a nursery song. Here is is for your enjoyment (you might want to turn up the valume, she is very quiet):

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2009-01-21T19:53:00.008-05:00

Kids Update...

Over the past few weeks, we have seen a dramatic improvement in Saffi's behavior. She really doesn't have temper tantrums anymore and she has been doing GREAT in school. For instance, in science class today, they made paper airplane to show the children how airplanes fly. Well, almost all the kids in Saffi's class did not know how to make a paper airplane and she had hers done first (we have made many paper airplanes at home). According to her teacher, she had about twenty kids lined up at her desk so she could show them how to make their paper airplanes. Her teacher also told me that she is number one in her math skills. We are very proud of her and her accomplishments over the last month. Keep up the good work Saffi.

Sawyer has also made some tremendous improvements. He is now making voice approximations for almost ten different words and learning new ones everyday. It is so cool to hear him say as clear as day, "on, up, no, in, and move." These are usually used when daddy is sitting in his seat. The Meany I am, I make him say most of these to get me out of his way. He has to practice some how.

Saxton is talking more than ever. He has also started talking back to daddy and repeating everything daddy says. Sometimes, he even tells daddy what to do. Which I remind him that he has to say "please" in order for me to do what he asks. His new favorite answer to yes or no questions is maybe. Hopefully that will end soon. He is the character of the family. If you need a picture of a class clown, Saxton is it. In his daycare class, he is the first one to volunteer to do anything new and the official greeter for the new kids, especially the girls. He loves his girls. I don't know what I am going to do with him later.

Anyway, here is a couple of pictures. I need post some more later, but the kids are getting ready for bed.

2009-01-10T18:56:00.004-05:00

Saturday Night Fun...

We have no idea what got into the kids tonight, but it was way too funny. Sawyer was playing with one of the bouncy balls, when Saxton tried to take it away from him, which lead to this...(You might want to turn down your speakers a little, their screams are ear piercing)...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This went on for about 10 minutes and it was the high light of the day and too funny. It ended when Saffi got the ball away from Saxton and gave it to back to Sawyer. What a great older sister.

DISCLAIMER: No children or rubber bouncy balls were hurt in the making of this video. We do, however, strongly suggest that you try this at home with your children, it can be really fun...or dangerous. But, one will never know until it happens.

2008-12-31T22:14:00.013-05:00

Happy New Year....

Christmas is over and a new year will soon be here. Our friends Chip and Holly have just taken the cake for the best late Christmas present ever, they received their referral today for a beautiful little girl. Congratulations Chip and Holly, may your lives be filled with joy and happiness as you bring you little girl home.

Christmas time is always a special time of year. It's a time for family and friends to come together and enjoy each other company. My parents were able to come join us again this year. It is always nice to have them here during this time of year and it make me miss Colorado every time they visit. Then I look at my wonderful family and think, I would not have my life any other way.

We did the typical Christmas stuff, open gifts and drink a lot of eggnog. But this year again was special because Saffi got to celebrate her first Christmas with Sawyer and Saxton. They all loved opening their gifts and playing with their new toys. It was funny to watch all of their expressions as they opened their presents. Just to give you a visual, when they opened up a toy, their eye lit up and a huge smile filled their face. But when they open up a present with clothes in it, they quickly put that gift to the side and look for another that might contain a toy. Totally priceless.

We took my parents to the Aquarium and then to the Jersey Shore. They loved every minute of it. Plus, we finally got a picture with the whole family together.

Here are some other pictures from the last week.

All three children loving each other. The Grandparents with the Grandchildren at the Shore.

From our family to yours, we hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

2008-12-23T20:50:00.017-05:00

The Day Before the Day Before Christmas.....

Or in other words, the day before Saffi's 7th Birthday.

The past couple of weeks has been a complete roller coaster. Saffi has been doing really well at home with very minor temper tantrums, but school is a different story. While she has been a model student the last couple of days, last week was really difficult. Monday she did really well, no complaints from the teachers or counselors, Tuesday and Wednesday she was out of school because of multiple family doctors appointments. On Thursday and Friday, Saffi did not want anything to do with school (for the most part). On Thursday morning, she threw a temper tantrum that would rival a Hollywood Heiress when she didn't get the color Ferrari she wanted. She was kicking, screaming and hitting the teachers. Thank God the teachers pretty much ignored it and then she seems to calm down because she was not getting the attention she wanted.

Friday, Saffi upped the ante. Not only did she start the day off by kicking, hitting and screaming at the teachers (which they ignored again), she started hitting and scratching herself. Because of this, she was in the principle office for most of the day. This made us very, very concerned. We are monitoring this very closely, but the school believes this is another form of attention getting because once they told her to stop and held her, she would stop hitting and scratching herself. Another belief they and we have, she might be trying to do this to to tell us that she is getting injured at school so we don't send her to school. We have contacted some Mandarin speaking Psychologists in the area and we are trying to get an appointment so we can figure out why she was doing this.

BUT, as I stated earlier, they last couple of days she has been a different little girl. Grandma and Grandpa came into town from Colorado and she has been climbing all over them.

She has been helping around the house getting the boys dressed in the morning and helping clean up the living room after the kids play.

Last night, she helped decorated the Christmas Tree.
On Saturday, she went for horseback riding with Sawyer and Saxton and did not through a fit while getting on the horse, but she did gang up with Saxton to pick on Grandpa while he was trying to get warm.Tomorrow is not only Christmas Eve, but it is Saffi's 7th Birthday. We hope she has a great Birthday and a wonderful first Christmas..

Happy Holidays everyone.

2008-12-10T17:53:00.005-05:00

It's Not All Rainbows and Ladybugs....

And anyone who tells you it is, is full of (insert your own word here). Now, before all of you out there in blogland get bent out of shape, let me explain. Saffi has come a VERY long way since Shelby first laid eyes on her about a month ago in Nanchang. At first, Saffi was very difficult to handle and would act out, violently, when Shelby tried to discipline her. When they got home, it didn't get any better and we thought to ourselves, "What the hell did we get ourselves into." She was testing boundaries in a big way. For instance, I would ask her to not touch the computer, then she would touch it anyway. When I would tell her to stop, she would sit in the middle of the room and start wailing for 'Ma Ma.' If we tried to comfort her, she would push us away, start kicking us, start trying to bite us and start hitting us. This is the side of adoption many people leave out. Eventually, she would settle down and begin to play again.

We started Saffi in Elementary School last week. Things were going great for the first couple of days. She seemed to like her teacher and the other students in her class. She also liked the work that the English as a Second Language teacher was giving her. Then came last Friday and meltdown city. When we brought her to school, she refused to go into the building with me, but she had no problem going into the school with Shelby. BUT, once the teacher's aide came to pick her up for class,the fight was on. Teachers told us to leave and that she would be okay. That was at 8:45 am. at 10:00am, we got our first phone call that Saffi was throwing toys at other students and trying to bite the school counsilor and teacher's aide, all while screaming, yes screaming, that she wanted to go home. We, along with the teachers agreed that going home was not an option because we do not want to give into her tantrums so that in the future she will think that if she tantrums, she will get what she wants. At 1:30, we received a second phone call saying that she calmed down and was back in the classroom for 1/2 hour, but flipped out when she was told to go to the cafeteria for lunch. So back to the Principles office she went. She ended up there for the rest of the day all the while she was kicking, screaming, hitting and biting the Principle, teacher's aide and counselor. It was so bad, the school told us that if she isn't better on Monday, we would have to look at a modified schedule until she can get used to the school.

Luckily, over the weekend, an alien ship came from outer space and took away the bad Saffi and gave us a good Saffi. For the most part, this week has been uneventful. She has only thrown one tantrum at home and has been an angel at school Thank heaven for little girls. The boys love playing with her and she loves chasing the boys around the house. We started her in Horseback riding two weeks ago, her second ride is this Friday. Hopefully she will like it this time as much as last time.
Here is a really good picture of all three kids playing together.

This past weekend, we went on a Santa Train in West Chester, PA. It was a lot of fun, but unfortunately, the kids didn't know what think of Santa. But they all had a great time riding the train and singing Christmas Carols.

BTW-It was around 20 degrees with a wind chill of 5 degrees. A very, very cold day.

2008-11-29T08:47:00.009-05:00

Happy Birthday Sawyer.....

Yesterday was Sawyer's Fourth Birthday. Yes, it is hard to believe that this precious little boy is four years old. So, for his fourth birthday, we took him to one of his most favorite places in the world, the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. They loved watch all the big fish swim by the glass.

Sawyer was adventurous enough to go to the touching pond and touch one of the small sharks.

Then we came home and celebrated with Sawyer's Birthday cake. You know your little boy is growing up when he uses a fork for the majority of the eating and doesn't get as messy as years past.

After about fifteen minutes of cake eating, here is what the cake looked like. By the way, he did have a piece of cake on a little plate but he was more interested in eating the cake itself.

Everyone was happy after they got their sugar fix.

I couldn't resist. I told Saxton to get ready for the aquarium, and this is what he came downstairs looking like. Doesn't he look cute as a purple haired little girl?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAWYER!!!!!

2008-11-26T20:47:00.011-05:00

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving...

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except Cao,Be Be,Lu Lu and Timber, searching for that pesky mouse. The turkey was soaking in a brine that was so rare, I can't wait to eat it and gain ten pounds without a care.
The children were sitting all snug on the couch, amazed at what they saw, I thought it could have been Hee Haw, but no, it was 'Finding Nemo' on the TV, oops one of them had to go pee.Saffi in her sweats is still settling in, but Saxton likes to chase his new girly kin. Sawyer is also adapting to having this older girl, but he knows she will always be there to give him a whirl.

Daddy can wait until that first boy arrives to take his little girl out on a date, that boy will be in for a big surprise, if she comes home late.

Mama is still recuperating from her long November Trip, she likes to rest in bed a lot, I think she broke a hip. (not really)

The Walker-Smith family are settling in just fine, as long as we have three or four cases of good Riesling Wine.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We are all doing just fine. Saffi is adjusting as well as she can to a new family. Even though we had had some really rough times over the past three weeks, Saffi is coming into her own. Every once in awhile, she will have some horrible grieving moments where we can do nothing to calm her down. We just sit next to her and let her grieve and then she usually falls asleep in one of our laps. Yesterday I heard my wife say that she thinks we will all be okay. I also think we will be just fine. We will have a lot of trials and tribulations over the next, god only knows, however many years, but if this is the worst that happens, BRING IT ON!!!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and a safe and happy Holiday Season.

2008-11-20T19:59:00.004-05:00

Mommy and Saffi Are Home....

Shelby and Saffi made it home with a few minor meltdowns in the Guangzhou and Beijing airports. While these were trying times, Saffi did very well on both flights. When she met the boys, it was like someone just let of a box of whistlers that lasted until 11:00pm last night. Then it all started again at 4:00 am. Curse that darn Jet Lag. The boys love chasing her around the house, it is really cool to see Sawyer and Saxton play with Saffi as if she has been here the whole time.

It seems Saffi is starting to adjust. She had her first meltdown with me tonight when I was trying to get the boys to fall asleep. She wanted to fall asleep on the floor, but I moved her to her own bed. This set her off crying for MaMa. Surprisingly, she let me rub her back, while she cried, until she fell asleep. Hopefully she will sleep through the whole night. Stay tuned, more to come....

2008-11-18T10:26:00.005-05:00

Homeward Bound....

Today was the Consulate appointment and everything went well. Shelby and Saffi are one step closer to home. It is 11:30 at night there, right now. They have to get up at 4:00am China time to get to the airport. They leave Guangzhou at 8:30 am and arrive in Beijing at 12:30pm China time. Then they have a five hour layover until their flight leaves for the States. Luckily, it is a non-stop flight home. I can not wait to see them when them get off that plane tomorrow evening. It has been a long two weeks for all of us.

Saffi is still getting use to her new mommy and mommy is still getting use to her new daughter. There have been some real rough times over the past couple of weeks. Saffi has had little to no discipline, so when Shelby tries to tell her 'no,' Saffi flips out. Of course some of this is testing boundaries, but sometimes Saffi will start to grieve and not let anyone near her. This is hard for Shelby who wants to comfort her and bond with her and it seems that Saffi just wants to push her away. Thanks to our friends like Nancy and Ruth who have been telling us that they had to go through the same thing when they adopted their older children. Thank you both for the support. Your messages did truly help through these tough times and will continue to help us through the transition period. Also, I would like to thank all of you who have left very supportive and kind comments on our sight. Kim, Holly, Val, Ron, Jen, Mel, Kristen, Lori, and anyone else I didn't mention. All of your comment have been very up lifting to us all. Okay, enough with the acceptance sounding speech. Here is a few last photos of Saffi at a children's park in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, Shelby was not able to get as many pictures as we would of liked because Saffi thought the camera was a toy. Therefore, the camera was not out as much. But, anyway, enjoy:

2008-11-16T06:15:00.005-05:00

Oh What A Day....(From Shelby)

Today was a much better day. We went to the Goat Park and got some great pictures of Saffi. She listened well and was in a great mood. We then went to look for shoes. Because Saffi's left foot is so badly deformed from the unsuccessful surgery to correct her club foot, it is VERY hard to find shoes. I actually had to buy two different sizes. But now she will only wear the smaller size because she got very upset when she relaxed the shoes were two different sizes. She was smart enough to look at the bottom of the shoes and say no way. I was hoping she would nap this afternoon but it appears that a nap is not going to happen.

I miss you all so much and cant wait to see you and boys!

2008-11-14T20:21:00.009-05:00

We are in Guangzhou.....(From Shelby)

Yesterday was a another trying day. Saffi had another major meltdown and was very aggressive with me - hitting me and kicking me. She even slapped me across the face. But after an hour of this, calmed down and was back to her happy self. Scott and I are pretty strict regarding behavior, so it was hard for me to sit there with her. I had to seriously reprimand her and tell her no.

The plane ride was fine and she was great. She loved looking out the window.

We are now at the White Swan and are so relieved to be here. But it is bittersweet at the same time. I miss Scott and the boys terribly and remember all the great times we had here with the two boys. I am also glad that home is one step closer and that is sad to me unto itself because I love being in China. However, I will say that Nanchang was not what I had expected. There is nothing to do in the city that's close to the hotels and child friendly.

Today we will have the medical visit which should be interesting because Saffi has an undisclosed medical issue. We got our final approval from the FBI so our state approval can now be processed (SCOTT FILL THIS IN WITH WHAT HAPPENED RE FINGERPRINTS). In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if one parent is traveling, the State REQUIRES you to do a second FBI clearances. While my fingerprints passed with flying colors, Shelby did not do to her hand being ultra super dry (technical term-look it up). After failing twice, the State asked the FBI to do a name search. Which of course came back fine, TODAY, two days before the Consulate Appointment. Without this approval, Shelby would not of been able to bring Saffi home. To make the story more interesting, we did not know we needed to do this until a week before Shelby left for China. Thanks to needing to get a home study update, we found out about it from our social worker that this was a new rule. How fun it was. But, Thank goodness that it is over with and Shelby and Saffi can come home safely.

I am slowly starting to attached to Saffi but we have a long road ahead of us. Here is some pictures of our first day in Guangzhou.

2008-11-13T22:35:00.004-05:00

Last Day in Nanchang...

Shelby is glad that this is her last day in Nanchang and headed toward the comforts of the White Swan. It is almost like walking up the path to the pearly gates and you can hear the choir singing, but the gates aren't open, yet.

It has been a very trying time on Shelby, her mother and Saffi. Saffi is getting used to a new family, Shelby is getting used to a new daughter and Shelby's Mother just takes some time to get used to period. Just kidding, she has been helping out when she can.

Unfortunately, we might not see too many pictures for the rest of the trip. Every time Shelby takes out the camera, Saffi thinks it's funny to try to break it. She will try to pull the lens out, stomp on it or even throw it across the room. Not too funny to Mommy and Daddy who paid good money for this nice camera. According to Shelby, the child has had no discipline or boundaries. Oh how thing can change (insert sinister laugh here with the rubbing of the hands together and the rolled up nose, topped off with a grin from ear to ear).

Anyway, I will try to keep you all updated as to what is going on. One thing that Shelby mentioned was that Saffi was starting to listen a little better. I had a nice conversation with Saffi in English. I said I love you and she screamed I love you back (with the prompting of Shelby).

Have a great day. Hopefully the next update from Shelby will come from Guangzhou.

2008-11-13T10:30:00.009-05:00

A Very Trying Day.....

Today was a very challenging day. Saffi is testing every boundary imaginable. It is hard because I have to be so firm with her and I feel like all I am doing is speaking harshly to her and telling her no. She is constantly running away from me and will not listen to me. She thinks everything is funny until she realizes that she is not going to get her way - and then the wailing for mama starts. I have to realize that she does not really view me as mama, let alone even like me. And I am not yet attached to her. I know she is part of our family and that she is my daughter, but the motherly love is just starting to grow. I care and love her deeply, but I must also attach to her. Attaching to an older child can be very challenging, especially with limited communication. While it easy to tell her "no don't do that" in Mandarin, I don't know enough Mandarin to explain to the reason why. While attaching to Saffi is going to be very challenging, I know and my husband knows that we can work through this as a family. A lot of people don't talk about this part of adoption because they want to preserve that ladybugs and rainbows image. Of course, it doesn't help that I am sick and can't seem to get rid of my head cold. You know your husband really really loves you when he stays on the phone with you while you throw up all your dinner, while forgetting to put the phone down.

In addition, her foster family was supposed to come to Nanchang today to say goodbye but they could not come. I am disappointed but relieved at the same time. Before we knew they were not coming, I had the guide start to prepare Saffi. However, Saffi started saying that if she sees her foster mother, she will run away from me and go to them because they will take her back home. She was so adamant that she would leave, the Guide was afraid of allowing her to see them and advised me not to bring her down to meet them but to come alone. But they didn't come. So moot point right....except that I feel like I failed adoptive parenting 101 by not making the trip to see them. On the other hand, we will be sending them some gift while we are here in China which Saffi help me wrap. We will also allow Saffi to stay in touch with the foster family as often as she would like. Thank goodness we fly to Guangzhou tomorrow - I can not wait for Starbucks - the coffee here is like mud - seriously it is thick and drips out of the container like a sludge.

2008-11-12T07:16:00.019-05:00

Oh What a Great Day... (from Shelby)

Today was a better day. We went to a local park in Nanchang and a Taoist Temple at the park. Saffi is getting better but she will not listen to me while the guide is around. She is used to running everywhere, with no thought to a parent. However, she is better when we are alone in the hotel room. She is now taking her first nap (thank freaking god!) and I am going to relax and read. Here are some pictures from today's adventure:

2008-11-11T07:07:00.020-05:00

A Very Tough Day...

Today was a very rough day for Saffi transitioning to her new family, but we expected this. This is why we did our research and talked to friends who went through similar situations. While it is very hard for me to just sit here almost 7000 miles away and watch helplessly as my wife and daughter are going through one of the toughest times in thier lives, I know my wife is strong and can get through this tough time.

Today, Shelby found lice eggs on Saffi's head. After washing her hair with lice shampoo, Shelby was advised to go get her hair cut to better expose her scalp. So, Saffi's is going to remember her first haircut with her new family as a very tramatic event. After the haircut, Saffi kept telling the guide "oh my hair, my hair. I am not beautiful anymore." But all we see is this gorgeous little girl that I can not wait to hug.

Shelby also got a surprise phone call from the Foster Family. They would like for Shelby and Saffi to come back to the Foster Village for one last visit on Thursday. While this could be a chance for closure for Saffi and a learning experience for us, we are having some concerns. When Saffi was talking to her Foster Family, she told them that if she goes to the Foster Village, she is not going to come back with her new family. This scared the crap out of us. We thought it might be better for all of us if we paid for the Foster Family to come to Nanchang for on last visit. If anyone has any advise, this would be a great time to share it with us. Nancy, we are relying on you for guidance (no pressure).

Understandably, Shelby is very exhausted and the jet lag doesn't help. So, they went bed at 7:00 pm China time tonight. Yesterday, Saffi slept for twelve hours. I wish I could sleep that long, but I have two 3 1/2 foot human spinning tops that like to crawl into my bed in the middle of the night.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Saffi's haircut. Isn't she adorable?

2008-11-10T06:12:00.015-05:00

First full Day...

Today was our first full day together. Saffi went to bed last night at 10pm. She woke up at 5am - which made for a horrendous day. We went to do paperwork at the Civil Affairs office and met a group from Spain. The group was NSN and many of them were very open in their surprise that I was adopting Saffi. Of course, I imagine that some of their surprise had to do with the fact that Saffi was grieving very very hard and wanted nothing to do with me. We finished with the paperwork and went to have Saffi's passport picture taken and paperwork processed. Saffi decided to start climbing the walls (literally) and I decided to use that opportunity to start establishing boundaries. Saffi flipped out - she threw her shoes off and started wailing for mama. Of course everyone was looking at me and people started coming over to try to calm Saffi - making her wailing even worse. And karma chose this moment to have the first screw up of all of our adoptions. Saffi's information was never sent to the passport people. So now we are stuck waiting for her information to make it to Nanchang from Leping. We are hoping that we will not be delayed (fingers crossed). So, I carried a screaming and crying 6 year old out to the waiting car, with all the on-lookers getting a show.

Saffi eventually calmed down and the guide and I talked a bit about her life. Saffi comes from deep in the country of Jiangxi. She was raised in extremely poor living conditions - even by China's standards (I know that sounds bad and I don't mean it like that but don't know how else to write about this). The children of her village - whether foster or biological - are allowed to run very free and have minimal to no discipline because the foster parents are so busy trying to survive. The children run free and unless cold, do not wear shoes very often and are allowed to stay very dirty. They generally do not eat at tables with adults but wander as they eat. Saffi came to me surface clean - once I took off her clothes for a bath, I saw that her toe nails were very long and embedded with dirt; one may be in grown. She is very afraid of the bath tub and can only tolerate about 1 inch of water. Saffi has refused to eat; but once the guide figured out she wanted rice and SAUTEED RADISHES, she chowed. She literally took the bowl and shoveled the food into her mouth. She is very afraid of elevators, escalators, the traffic here in Nanchang and mirrors fascinate her. At least her two front teeth are decayed and she picks her nose like a truck driver (Daddy - she is so your girl!!). She is wild - she is very active and likes to climb everything.

She also came to me with a huge scar on her wrist. I asked the Director about it today and they told me it was a birthmark. Well, the guide followed up and it was a birthmark - one that tunnel into her growth plate and was recommended for removal by the doctor who "fixed" her feet. The doctor thought that the birthmark would stop her arm from growing properly. This was completely undisclosed to us and is somewhat disturbing. Especially given the fact that the orphanage doesn't have the medical records on the birthmark or the surgery.

Frankly - this has been a trying and emotionally draining trip. It is especially hard because I am without my support system - Scott. I never realized how much inner strength I have because of him; how essential he is to who I am as a person and most importantly, as a parent. Although I have faith it will get better eventually, all I have for tomorrow is hope - hope to make it through the day mentally and emotionally intact. I hope that my little girl will start shedding a layer or two of her protective shell and start to let me in. I cant tell you how much I long to hold her and give her the kisses Sawyer and Saxton accept so freely. Please say a prayer for us....

2008-11-09T11:08:00.009-05:00

Shelby's Account of the First Day...

Out of all our adoptions, I have to say that today was by far the hardest. Saffi (currently we call her Ke Ke - pronounced ker ker) is in very bad shape. She is very small and appears to be very mal-nourished. Her hair is very short and very thin. Her right foot is very severe and the leg turns from the ankle to the knee. She will definitely need multiple surgeries stateside and i think that competitive sports may not ever be an option. She also has a huge scar that wraps around her right wrist, suture marks still apparent.

The director of the orphanage and five (YES FIVE) workers/nannies came to drop Saffi of at our hotel room. They stayed for about 30 minutes and answered the basic questions. Once they left, Saffi imediately started taking her shoes off and pulled out a two page letter from her foster mother. Although I wont include specifics, the letter basically said that she loved Saffi but was unable to care for her for her entire life and that we were her only chance for a family. The foster mother also had Saffi memorize their phone number and so we called the foster mother so that Saffi could let her know she was okay. Saffi then started pulling off her pants and there on the inside of her underpants was another message from the foster mother including her address!!! I am thrilled beyond belief that I have some way to contact the foster family!

Once the guide left, all hell broke loose. Saffi ran for the door, screaming mama; she sobbed and tried to get out of the hotel room for the next two hours. I sat on the floor but she refused to let me touch her or give her anything. Eventually, she calmed down and we had a bath - complete with underwear on! She just fell asleep with all her new toys surrounding her. I hope that tomorrow will be better for my darling girl - I am glad she is grieving as at least I know she has attached to someone and that we have a good chance that she will eventually attach to us.

Interestingly, both the guide and the director confirmed that they only have children with severe needs available for international adoption. The director asked me to please please advocate for other children with special needs. He also was very proud of the fact that he was able to adopt a majority of his children to couples inside Jiangxi Province. I love and miss everyone desperately and know in my heart that "tomorrow is another day."

2008-11-09T07:55:00.004-05:00

We Have Saffi...

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures, yet, for good reason. After the guide left the room, Saffi broke down, crying. All she wants to do is go find Ma Ma. She will not let Shelby get close to her without crying. Fortunately, we did prepare for this and knew this could very well happen. Over time, Saffi will open up and let mommy get closer.

Just imagine being pulled from the only life you've known for the last almost seven years and these new people are saying that they are your family. It can be very shocking. But, these are things we are going to have to work through. Thank goodness Shelby is strong and know how to comfort her the best that she can.

Once Shelby emails some pictures, I will put them on the blog.

2008-11-07T12:23:00.005-05:00

They Have Made it to Nanchang...

Shelby and her Mother have safely made it to their hotel in Nanchang. Shelby said that the flights were fairly uneventful. They are going to take the next couple of days to get settled, sign documents and see some sights before they get to meet Saffi on Sunday around 4pm China time (3am our time here on the East Coast). Once I get photos, they will be posted. So, sit back, relax and wait with me for the fireworks to begin.

2008-11-06T12:01:00.005-05:00

They are off....

Shelby and her Mother left for China today. They will fly into Beijing then onto Nanchang, arriving at 8:20, China time, on Friday evening. They will have one day to get adjusted, then Shelby will meet our Daughter Saffi. I wish the boys and I could be there to see her for the first time, but we are here to hold down the fort for the next couple of weeks. This will be a lot of fun. Bachelor Time!!!

Take a look back every once in awhile to see the new pictures of our little girl. Wish them a good flight and safe journeys.

2008-10-22T06:33:00.005-04:00

We have our TA!!!!!

Shelby and her mom will be leaving on November 6th to bring Saffi home. She will arrive in Nanchang on the 7th and meet Saffi on Sunday the 9th. I will be staying home with the boys, anxiously waiting for them to come home on the 19th.

We can not believe that we are finally meeting our little girl and I can't wait to see them when they get off the plane at the airport. So come and watch the journey with us. Shelby will be sending emails and pictures, and I will be updating the blog, nightly.

Saffi, here we come!!

2008-09-24T21:29:00.037-04:00

Day 95....

We are on day 95 for our wait for Saffi's LOA, already. Wow, time flies by quickly, when you're busy. Since out last update, Sawyer and Saxton have been keeping us busy by going to the beach, riding horses, Hiking in the Poconos, going to Ringing Rock State Park or Dutch Wonderland, and with a variety of therapies.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks. Enjoy.

Ringing Rock

Enjoying the rides at Dutch Wonderland

The Jersey Shore

Beautiful Bushkill Falls in the Poconos

Horseback Riding

Tomatis Listening-Therapy

It doesn't matter how long we wait to bring Saffi home, we would wait another 94 days if we had to. But in the meantime, we had our two precious little boys to keep our hands full.

Last minute correction...

Just as I pushed 'Publish Blog,' I got an e-mail from our agency. OUR LOA JUST CAME IN!!!!

YAHOO!!!

2008-08-25T21:36:00.018-04:00

Saffi Update...

Today we received the following update for Saffi:

"Le Xiao Ke, female, DOB 12/24/01. She is 104cm (41 Inches), 15kg (33 lbs), 53cm head, 52cm chest, 16cm foot, 24 teeth. She doesn't know any English yet. She only knows to say Bye-Bye. She knows a little about being adopted. She can write some simple Chinese and do some simple math. She is quiet. She is active with people she knows, but very shy with strangers. She likes to play with other children a lot."

Just to give you an idea about her height and weight, Sawyer and Saxton are 36 inches tall. Sawyer weighs 33 lbs and Saxton weighs 31 lbs. The difference is Sawyer is 3 yrs 9 months and Saxton is 3 years 1 month old. She is our little girl and we can not wait to get her home.

Here are some pictures we received with the update today, Saffi is in the white dress:

2008-08-07T06:40:00.011-04:00

Saxton Has Surgery...

Saxton had his lip and nose revision yesterday. We are very happy with the results and Saxton is doing really well. Two hours after the surgery, he already drank a cup of apple juice, a slushy and a pint of cherry water ice. He will be coming home in just a couple of hours to recoup. Here is some pictures from yesterday:

Saxton just got his happy juice.
This happy juice is Grrreat!!
Just after surgery.
Sleeping while sitting ( I wish I could do that). ***Disclaimer: These pictures were taken with a camera phone, since I forgot to bring our regular camera.

2008-08-01T17:39:00.040-04:00

A lot has happened over the last month...

Okay, so we have had a lot going over the last month. Over the Fourth of July weekend, we went to Colorado to see my family and friends. We had a great time traveling to all of my old haunts and seeing some things I have never seen or haven't seen for a long time.

Our first adventure was on the morning of the Fourth. My parent took us to Tiny Town, Colorado, a place I haven't been since I was really little. This is a town made up of solely tiny little models of well known houses and buildings of Colorado. The boys, of all ages, loved being larger than life in this little town. We all loved the little train that ran through the town. As the Conductor said, it was "nine minutes of freedom" from the boys pulling us in every direction. Saxton and I loved the ride so much, we went on it twice.

Scott' Dad Bill looking like a Giant Sawyer Ready For the Choo, Choo!! (He's doing the Choo, Choo sign). Saxton trying break into a little house.
Sawyer trying find a way into the Club.

The next day we went up to our friends' Kirk and Deb's Cabin, just North of Fairplay, Colorado in South Park. (If you are wondering, yes this is where the series South Park got it idea. One of the creators is from Fairplay; if I remember right). We had a very enjoyable time hanging out and talking about, well really, nothing. Just some good old conversation with some friend. The boys stayed pretty close to us, until... Saxton says, "What's that?" Ahh, Dune Buggy!! Can't wait to get one of these.Mommy would love to let us have one of these...It would be too much fun. (Not happening anytime soon).

On Sunday, we went to the Butterfly Pavilion with our friends Mike, Amy and their son Landon. The boys all loved the creepy bugs of course and chased the butterflies. It was a great energy burn off for everyone.

After our adventure with all the bugs, we back tot he hotel to get ready for an evening with the family. Mike, Amy and Landon joined us, along with my Mom, Dad, my Brother Russ, his wife Adriane, my Uncle Bob, and my cousins Larry and Deb for dinner at the White Fence Farm in Lakewood. We had a great time visiting with everyone (when we could). With two three year old running around like chickens with their heads cut off, sometimes it gets hard to talk. But everyone enjoyed their dinner, especially the corn fritters, which are these little balls of dough nut dough, sugar and corn. They are the best.

After a few hours at the White Fence Farm and a horse ride. It was time to chill out. We went up to the mountains the next day and tired out the boys even more. By the end of the trip they were gitty about going home.

The flight home was very uneventful. Both boys slept for most of the four hour flight. But when we got back to Philly, all the real fun started. We went to the baggage carousel to find that they airlines forgot to put our car seats on the plane. So they gave us two loaner seat where one of them smelled like puke (which we didn't notice until they were strapped in the car). We get back to the valet parking lot to get our Jeep only to find that the Manager of the lot backed into our Jeep.
So we fill out our paperwork and we are on our way home. We take the Jeep in the next day to get it fixed and they give us a rental car. That Friday at noon, my knee feels like it is burning up. By six that evening, my knee was the size of a softball. So, off we go to the hospital. After about three hours in the ER, they send me home with Bactrim and tell me I have Bursitis in the knee and this should help bring it back down with in 24 hours. 24 hours later, I was back in the hospital, this time for four days. During my stay at the St. Mary's Hilton, I received IV antibiotics and they drained my knee. That seemed to help, until that following Monday. My knee was again the size of a softball and feeling like it was going to explode. So this time, they didn't mess around. They went in and surgically removed the infection from my knee. All is better now. BTW-we got the Jeep backa nd they still didn't fix everything. So, back it went to the body shop.

On July 18th, we celebrated Saxton's Third Birthday. We just had a small party with a few of our friends and Shelby made this awesome homemade cake. MMMM, so good.
While all this was going on, we got the boys started in Therapeutic Horse Back Riding. They both love being on the horses and the instructors are great with the boys. During all of our other adventures, we are in a legal battle with the Intermediate Unit to get Sawyer the services that he needs because of his Autism. This has been going on for over a month now. Not fun for us or Sawyer or us.

So all we can do is just sit back in our laundry hamper chairs and enjoy life.

2008-06-27T08:57:00.013-04:00

Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like To Grow Up In China With Autism?

Shelby and I often wonder what Sawyer's life would be like if he was to grow up in China. Well, Shelby found this eye opening article on Autismvox. Check out this little boy's story.

All I have to say about this is Thank God Sawyer is home with us. We, as Americans, take a lot of things for granted, but we as a family are very grateful for the services that Sawyer is receiving and for the programs we have available in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Sawyer after a water fight with his brother

2008-06-26T07:49:00.005-04:00

We Have A LID!!!!!

Let the waiting begin for Saffi to come home!!! We are LID as of June 23, 2008. Now we will be counting every day, getting anxious to get things done around the house and just going out right crazy. Have a great week and we will update you all soon.

2008-06-06T12:36:00.003-04:00

We Are DTC as of June 4th!!

We are happy to announce that we are officially DTC as of June 4th. Let the waiting game begin.

2008-06-04T15:08:00.005-04:00

A couple of pictures...

We went to the Philadephia Zoo (the first oo in the United States) a couple of weeks agao. The boys love looking at the animals, especially the ones they can get close to behind glass. Here is a couple of pictures I took from that day.

Stay tuned, we may have exciting news in the near future.

2008-04-26T20:33:00.017-04:00

Wow, two updates in a row...

Close to our house is this wonderful amusement park that is specifically made for children. Many of you might know this place as Sesame Place. Today, out of their wonderful generosity, Sesame Place opened it doors to those children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Here are some pictures from today:

Sawyer getting ready for a fun day.

Saxton Says "Hi" from Sesame Place Sawyer riding his first Carousel. He was laughing his head off once we got going. Unfortunately, they did not allow cameras on the ride. Saxton can not wait to get going.
A show with the well-known characters of Sesame Street

Both the boys loved watching the Sesame Street play and clapped along with the music.
And after a long day, they both passed out within five minutes of getting into the truck.

For those of you who do not know, Sawyer was diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder in June of 2007. Since then, we have been in continuous therapy to help Sawyer communicate with his teachers, peers and his parents. Yea see, while Sawyer is considered to be on the high functioning side of the spectrum, he is non-verbal and has trouble communicating his needs to his teachers and his parents. Furthermore, he obsesses with different items, such as lights and musical toys. It has been a long hard struggle in many different ways, but trust me when I say, we would not of had it any other way.

We first noticed that there was something going on in that little mind of our wonderful little man the first day we met Sawyer in Kunming, Yunnan, People's Republic of China. We noticed that he would be obsessed with his reflection in the mirror.

The first time I saw him do this I thought, "if I were him, I would be looking at perfection too." We also noticed that he was obsessed with spinning, lights, rocking and he would never make any type of eye contact; all signs of a Neurological Disorder. We immediately started Googling Neurological Disorders and Autism while still in China. I have seen many people disrupt their adoptions in China for these same symptoms. I have very deep emotional issues with this. My only questions is, if this child was born to you in a hospital and you found out two years later that your child has Autism, would you give him/her up? And please don't tell me it's different because we adopted. It's not!! Your child is your child. Take the responsibility for your decisions to adopt or to have a baby through natural child birth! Don't look for the easy way out. I am now off my soap box.

When we got home to Washington State, it was very difficult to get any doctor or therapist to even say they think he has Autism. We went six months in Washington without any type of diagnosis. While the rocking diminished, other obsessions came to the forefront.

It was not until we moved to Pennsylvania that Sawyer was finally diagnosed with the disorder that we have been telling doctors and therapists he had from the beginning. I have overhead some people say that when their child was diagnosed with Autism, it was the end of their world. We, on the other hand, felt a huge weight lifted off of our shoulder because we knew that now Sawyer can receive the proper therapy he deserved.

Over the past year, we have seen Sawyer overcome some of his obstacles. While he is still non-verbal, he is making great eye contact on a regular basis, he does not obsess with lights as much, but he now points at them as to ask what they are, he is beginning to use sign language and he is attempting to make make noises to get our attention. We could not be any happier.We love our boys very much. They are our world. I can not wait to share our love with their new sister Saffi.

2008-04-24T17:32:00.005-04:00

A Picture Update...

Saxton had his palate surgery on March 24th. As you can see, he is doing just fine.

Playing teeball in the living room (I hope his mother doesn't see this picture)...

Finding some left over Easter candy...

Sawyer was very happy to see that his little brother was feeling better...

2008-03-19T20:28:00.009-04:00

Four is about to become FIVE!!!!

I have a couple of announcements to make!! First, we have decided on the name Saffi for our first beautiful little girl.

Next, WE HAVE OUR PA!!!!!! We are so excited to be one step closer to bringing Saffi home.

And to round out our day of amazing news, we have more updated pictures of Saffi.

Doesn't she look so cute. I just wish we could go through the Internet and bring her home, now. But we now have to finish all the Dossier paperwork and get it sent in hopefully in the very near future. HOLD ON SAFFI, MOMMY, DADDY, SAWYWR AND SAXTON ARE COMING FOR YOU!!!

2008-01-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

A Long, Long Overdue Update...

Please forgive us, we have been really busy the last month. First of all, we had a nightmare of a time with our upstairs bathroom. Long story short, we basically had it done twice. One tile job was really bad, so we had to hire another person to come in and completely tear out the tile and replace it with new tile. This all started the day after Thanksgiving and we finally were able to use the bathroom two days after Christmas. Thank God we had two bathrooms or else I would have gone nuts.

While this fiasco was going on, my parents came in from Denver over Christmas. We did not get to do as much as we wanted to do because of the bathroom situation, but we did get to go down the Philly to see the Liberty Bell and the outside of Independence Hall.
The boys had a great time at Christmas. They got every Thomas the Tank Engine known to mankind from their Bupshi, Papa and Uncle Steven, they even got the train table. This is now officially their favorite toy to play with.
We were also blessed with a phone call from Verizon, a couple days after Christmas, with a job offer. Of course I accepted and I just started last week as a Sales Consultant. It looks like it will be a very exciting change from the Telephone Engineering I did at Qwest back in Seattle. I am very excited about this opportunity.

Finally, we received an update picture of our beautiful daughter.
Here is where you all can help us out. We are stuck on trying to pick out her name. We have come up with three names that we really like, but we can not use all three. The names are: Soleil (pronounced Solay), Samara, or Saffi. Please let us know which name you all like the best by leaving a comment or sending us an email.

2007-12-14T10:26:00.001-05:00

What a Wonderful Christmas This Will Be...

Last weekend, we went out to a tree farm somewhat not so close to our house and found our Christmas Tree. We searched near and far, high and low, through two feet of mud (at least that is what the farmer told us it was)for this special tree. Ya see, we wanted a specific type of tree called a Scotch Pine which is a little bit bushy, or in other words, it look like a giant green feather duster. When our boys finally found the tree, they hopped up in excitement.

I soon made my way over to the elusive tree and ended it's life as it had come to know, sitting in a field with other trees that would soon suffer the same fate.

We then took this fine specimen of timber home and decorated in the traditional Christmas (or is it Holiday) fashion. Yes, it has been watered.

Then yesterday, Santa's Helpers who work for our agency sent us a little present. This was totally unexpected, but our agency is very good at what they do. They told us that this present could not wait to be opened on Christmas Morning. It needed to be opened right away. We were wondering why we had to opened it so urgently, we could of waited until Christmas Eve at least. They said 'No,' you must open it now. When all was said and done....

We are very happy to announce the newest member of our family!!

2007-11-29T10:27:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Sawyer!!

Yesterday we celebrated Sawyer's Third Birthday with the normal fanfare, a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, a Birthday cake and his family. His Grandma and Grandpa in Littleton, CO. sent him a Colorado Rockies T-shirt with Todd Helton's number and he got a Potato Head that can create twenty four different figures. Here are some pictures of the ole boy's B-Day:

The Cake

The Boy What Am I Suppose To Do With This?

The Mess Two Boys Can Cause Sawyer on a Sugar High
Saxton Trying to Keep Up

Happy Birthday Little Man!!!!

2007-11-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

It's Official...

On Wednesday night, I was voted in to be a Probationary Fire Fighter for the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company. I am very excited. I will start fire school in January and should be able to participate in actual calls in about eight months. Until then, I just get to sit on the sidelines and try to learn as much as possible.

In other very exciting news, Sawyer will start his an embedded program with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit on November 29th, the day after his third birthday. This is very welcomed news for us because he will be in a program that is directed specifically towards his needs. It has been a very fun time to watch Sawyer come out of his shell since he has been in the Early Intervention program, now it will be very interesting to watch him grow in the Intermediate Unit.

And now for some new pictures...

2007-11-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

Sawyer and Saxton, the Two Trouble Makers...

Okay, so these two have some kind of conspiracy going. Before Saxton came home, Sawyer was a little closed off from the rest of the world. It would take him forever to open up to anyone, including his Mom and Dad. Since Saxton has been home, he has been a different little boy. These two are in cahoots with taking over this house. While one is distracting us in one part of the house, the other is in the kitchen getting in to the snacks in the pantry or getting a yogurt out of the refrigerator. So here is a list of things these boys have done over the last couple of months that I found annoying at first, but are now too funny not to share.

1. After folding a load of laundry on the bed, the boys decided to pull all the clothes off the bed so they could use the bed as their personal jumping gym.

2. While potty training, Sawyer decided it would be a good time to learn how to write his name in the snow. Only problem though, there was no snow and we were in the bedroom.

3. Saxton and Sawyer love to play chase around the house. The only problem with that is the dogs love to play chase too. Ever see the movie Turner and Hooch? Picture that.

4. Two Words: Crayola Markers. Thank goodness they are washable.

5. The boys favorite thing to do in the tub now is to see who can pour more water on the other one with the cup we use to wash their hair.

6. Saxton makes anything he can into a backpack.

7. After he takes a nap, Sawyer likes to do this thing where he is pretending to sleep but he still eats or plays with his toys.

Now here are some other pictures. Enjoy!

This last picture was taken the day Saxton joined our family. Please remember that this was just two days after we got to Hangzhou, but I can hear Saxton saying, "what is wrong with this kid. It's only four in the afternoon and he is a sleep? What a woos."

2007-11-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

Picture Update...

Per the request of our friend Nancy , here is a picture update. These are never seen pictures of our trip to China as well as recent ones. Enjoy:

2007-11-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

Is it November Already?

This year has flown by like we were standing still. We moved from Seattle to Pennsylvania and the next thing you know, we are a family of four. Now we are at the beginning of the Holiday Season. Where does the time go?

Some exiting news to tell: First, our friends Mike, Nancy and Melanie are now in Taiwan with their new daughter, Harley and are doing really well. We are over the moon with excitement for this new family of four.

We joined the Philadelphia Zoo over the weekend. It is the first Zoo in the United States. For it's age, it is a very nice zoo with a lot of new attractions and animals.

Next, my parents will be coming from Colorado to meet Saxton for the first time over the Christmas Holiday. We can not wait for them to get here. Hopefully it will snow the day before Christmas so we can have our first White Christmas as a family.

Sawyer will be transitioning to the Intermediate Unit Early Intervention Unit in December to continue his language and speech development as well as his social skills. All though, all of his therapists have said that he is a totally different boy now than he was before Saxton came home. He has become more vocal, he mimics more often and he loves playing with his brother.

Well, truthfully, that is all the exciting news I have right now. But I do have some new pictures to show, so here they are.

Guess what the boys are doing in this picture:

Who needs toys when you have...

Other Cute Pictures...

2007-10-22T20:35:00.000-04:00

Time For a Long Overdue Update...

Much has happened since the last update, so much I don't know where to start. First, our friends Mike, Nancy and Melanie are getting ready to leave tomorrow night for Taiwan to bring Melanie's new sister, Harley, home. After a very long wait, they finally get to meet her on Friday. We are very excited for them and can not wait to follow their journey on their blog.

For our family adventure this past weekend, we took the boys to the Camden Aquarium, across the river from Philadelphia. They loved watching the fish, sharks and hippos do their thing and I am sure the fish loved watching them do theirs.

Next, I have applied to become a Volunteer Fire Fighter for the Yardley-Makefield Fire Company. After I get voted in, they will send me to the Buck County Fire School in Doylestown, PA. Once I have completed the school, which will take about six months of weekend work, I will be certified as a Fire Fighter 1. I am very excited about this opportunity to serve the community and play with high powered toys.

Finally, we had an appointment for Saxton's Palate surgery today at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He is tentatively scheduled for surgery on the 13th of Feburary, unless there is a cancellation earlier. The doctor said that six months after the palate surgery, he will do a revision on his lip and build up his nose. His lip and nose will be more complicated than Sawyer's surgery because Saxton has a unilateral cleft lip, where as Sawyer's was a bilateral cleft lip.

So that is pretty much what we have been up to. Here are some updated pictures for your enjoyment:

2007-10-08T17:20:00.000-04:00

Weekend Trip to Massachusetts...

This past weekend we went up to Rowley and Ipswich, MA to visit Shelby's family. We all had a great time playing with Bupshi, Papa, Nana, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Paul. This was the first time they all met Saxton and they all loved seeing the little character that he and Sawyer have become. Here are some pictures from this weekend...

2007-10-02T18:32:00.000-04:00

New Pictures...

As most you you can tell, we have been fairly busy getting adjusted to life as a family of four. Finally, on Sunday night Sawyer and Saxton slept from 7:00 pm until 5:00 am, without waking up. This is the first time since we've been home they have slept through the night at the right time of day. No more six hour naps in the middle of the afternoon.

Sunday seemed to be the day when everybody finally felt better, also. Sawyer was laughing and playing like he normally would and Saxton had to follow along and do whatever big brother was doing. Let me tell you though, Saxton knows how to test the limits. He will look at you with this big evil smile, then point at something he knows he shouldn't do. When you tell him 'NO,' he'll look at you again with that big evil smile, then start to pout. Well, at least until you redirect him to something else.

Today we went to get the boys haircuts. Surprisingly, neither of them made a peep. Usually, Sawyer is screaming bloody murder. But, we let Saxton go first this time and I think Sawyer didn't want to be upstaged by his little brother.

And now...the new pictures...

2007-09-25T01:42:00.000-04:00

Taking Some Time...

The title of this segment could have a couple of different meanings. One, we have been taking some time to get readjusted as a family of four. Or two, we have been taking some time to get over our sickness we caught while we were in China. Well, actually, we have been doing both.

Some people have commented to us that it seemed that we didn't post as faithfully near the end of our trip as we were during the first week. Well, that is because I got sick, first. No, I did not get sick from eating the food or drinking the water, which I did plenty of both. I got sick from the heat. That's right, the heat. I got a boil so big on my forehead that if I was to stand nose first next to the wall, the boil would hit the wall first. Now, that was a big boil because my nose is not that small.

Consequently, I had to go to the clinic at the White Swan. First they gave me an antibiotic and a band-aide and said this should help, but if it doesn't in 24 hours, come back. Well, it was like I was feeding the growth on forehead a five course meal. It quadrupled in size and my face started to swell up. So, after about 12 hours, I went back to the clinic and they proceeded to stab this unwanted parasite with a needle that looked like a BBQ skewer. Well, it was like they just knocked the top off of Mount Fuji, blood and puss running everywhere down my forehead. Yum right? It gets better...

After the "eruption," the nurse turns to me with a piece of gauze in her hand, with dark brown goop on it, and says, "this is a Chinese remedy that we use on the children who have boils. It should help to draw the puss out." Well, not only did it draw the puss out, it drew all the fluid in my body to my face.

By the night before we left, my eyes were almost swelled shut. I believed I was having an allergic reaction to the this dark brown goop. But, the weird thing was, there was no swelling around the popped puss pocket or the band-aide. Anyway, I took the dark brown goopped band-aide off and put on a clean band-aide with the antibiotic the doctor gave me and swelling started to subside in my face, but the puss pocket started to get bigger again. I was afraid that when I went through Customs I would have to declare and third child born from my forehead. Luckily the Customs agent had a sense of humor.

Well, while all this was going on, the boys were taking time to get to know one another.

You can never really prepare yourself for the sound of two little boys' laughter, it is overwhelming and very contagious. This little display of affection toward one another went on for over an hour. They would chase each other around the hotel room trying to tickle one another. After one would catch the other, they would laugh uncontrollably. It was a very welcomed sight.

And now back to the story. Well, the day before we left, Sawyer came down with what we thought was just an ordinary cold. His temperature was up to 100.3, so we started him on Ibuprofen. We thought we were in the clear once we got home and his temperature dropped back to normal. But by Saturday night, he started to have blisters on his lips and in his mouth. So we immediately called the doctor. Come to find out, it was more than a cold. It was a viral infection that had to run it course and the only thing we could do is give him Tylenol and Ibuprofen to help the pain. Even though all off the sickness, the bonding continues...

And now a word from our sponsors...

-Plane Tickets to China: $4500.00
-Food while in China: $250.00
-Watching a rerun of a College Football Game at two in the morning with your newly adopted son from China, because we have yet to adjust to the time and who is wearing your socks: PRICELESS
There are things money can buy, but family love and memories are the only thing that truly lasts forever.

2007-09-19T23:43:00.000-04:00

We Made It....

After a total of 26 hour flying and driving, we have made it home. Both boys did unbelievably well on the flights from Guangzhou to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit (the long, long flight) and finally Detroit to Newark. Both boys slept most of the way, which made the flights really nice, but it is going to be a long night. We will post more tomorrow or the next day once we get acclimated.

Take care and thank you all for the nice comments.

2007-09-18T16:56:00.000-04:00

Consulate Appointment...

The last step to go home has been completed. Today was Saxton's Consulate appointment. Next post will be from home. See you all soon.

2007-09-16T03:26:00.000-04:00

The Red Couch...

In the customary tradition of the Adoption Community of China, the famous Red Couch was taken today. Last year, Sawyer did nothing but scream. Saxton on the other hand did nothing but look at us as to say, "what are you silly people doing to me now?" Well, without further ado, here is the picture:

We also got a decent family picture:

After the red couch, came the group picture:

Then we went to the Pearl Market...and came right back. Both Sawyer and Saxton had meltdowns twenty minutes after we got there. So our guide David called the van to take us back to the Hotel. Saxton went down for a nap fairly quickly after we ate lunch, but Sawyer has not wanted to take a nap this afternoon. Good thing about this is he will go down early with Daddy and get some extra needed sleep. Tomorrow is a free day for us, so we are really unsure of what we are going to do, except one of the guides we had last year, Rebecca, will be taking us out to dinner at a Cantonese Restaurant. Shelby is dying to try the snake soup.

2007-09-15T15:46:00.001-04:00

Medical Day...

Today was the medical examination day. Shelby, Sawyer and I took Saxton to see the the Doctors to get final approval that everything was good with the boy. And of course, it was.

Unfortunately, Sawyer and I did not get to see Saxton's exam. I think Sawyer had a flashback because once we went into the Medical Exam Office, he flipped out. So, him and I went for a little walk around Shamian Island.

After the Medical Exam, we went back to the hotel and then to the pool. What a nice releif from the heat. It was 95 degrees here with about 65% humidity. So a dip in the 84 degree pool cooled us right off. Of course Sawyer was a fish, but Saxton did not know what to think at first. After about 15 minutes, he finally settled in and had fun.

Tonight, David took us to the Thai Restaurant down the road from the hotel. It was excellent food, we loved every bite. Then we went back to the White Swan and to the Mattel Room. We were really disappointed that there was not as many toys as there was last year. But, the boys had a great time anyway.

Tomorrow we go do some shopping. Yipee for me!! (not)

Also, watch for a famous picture place tomorrow.

2007-09-14T20:20:00.000-04:00

One Step Closer to Home...

We made it the White Swan in Guangzhou at about 4:00 pm local time. I really never thought it would be so nice to be here. The rooms we were originally going to get were not available for this week, so we got upgraded to a Parlor Suite. At first we were disappointed that we would have two ordinary rooms that were connected by a door in the wall, but we soon got over that fact when our guide, David, said you guys have been upgraded to the Parlor Suite. This room is awesome!! It has three rooms, a living room, a master bedroom and another bedroom with two twin beds. It also has three bathrooms. We will take pictures and post tomorrow. What a nice way to end this journey.

Tomorrow we have Saxton's Medical Exam. so it is time to go to bed. We have two very tired little boys.

2007-09-13T23:10:00.000-04:00

A Very Rough Day...

Today started out with a bang. At 3:00 am, Sawyer was up and ready to go. At 5:00 am, Saxton was up and ready to go. So we got ready, went to breakfast, then we prepared ourselves to go to the Orphanage.
Once we were on our way, the boys would not sit still in the van. Ya see in China, there is no law that the children have to be in a child seat, so the kids get to run around the vehicle (just like we did when we were kids). I just don't understand how we survived.

All the progress we had made with Saxton over the last few days was thrown out the window once we arrived at the Orphanage. His mood changed very dramatically from a happy little boy, to a confused and sad little boy.

Saxton was able say good-bye and get one last picture with his Nanny...
Then he got on last picture in his crib...

From this point on, we took two GIANT steps backwards. Saxton was not the happy little boy we had become accustomed to over the last few days. Once we left the room, Saxton started crying uncontrollably. He wanted to stay in the Orphanage and with his Nanny. He reverted back to the moment when we first saw him and I know he was saying to himself, "who are these people that are taking me away from the only life I have ever known?" But, how do you explain this to a two year old, who just met you three days ago, doesn't speak a lick of English and just saw the only people he has ever known for the last 26 months be taken from him? You do what you have to do. You hug him, you swing with him and you reassure him with the little Mandarin you know over and over again, "Wo ai ni, wo ai ni...(I love you, I love yo)." Then he would calm down, but only momentarily.

After the Orphanage, we went to the children's finding spots. Saxton was found at the Bing Wong Bus Station in Downtown Yiwu.

It was unclear in the documents we received from the Orphanage where Saxton was found exactly, so we took picture inside and out...

The same feeling came over me as a year ago when we saw Sawyer's finding spot. Even though this was a very loud and busy place, it was like someone turned the sound off. You could of been standing right next to me, yelling, and I would not of been able to hear you. I know that as Americans we can never really understand why people would abandon their children, but the only thing that kept running through my mind was, thank God that Saxton was abandoned in this busy bus station and not somewhere else where he might not of been found.

After Saxton's finding spot, we made the two hour ride back to the Hotel. This was NOT a pleasant journey. Saxton had his first major grieving meltdown. Understandably, he might of just realized that his life has changed forever and that he will never be going back to the life he has only known. For about an hour and fifteen minutes of the two hour drive, Saxton was grieving, again uncontrollably. Shelby did the only thing anyone can really do, let him grieve while reassuring him that we love him very much and that we will never let him go. After awhile, he finally calmed down and fell asleep for the rest of the ride.

After this very draining day, we did not feel like going anywhere. So, we just stayed in and played with the boys. Well, it was the boys who were mainly playing with each other.
Then just before we put the boys down for the night, we got the nicest surprise any parent could ask for... Tomorrow we head to Guangzhou, finally.

2007-09-13T02:36:00.000-04:00

A Trip to the Temple...

Well, it's 2:30 in the morning and I can not sleep. So, what do most people do in this situation, they update the blog.

Yesterday, our group went to the HangZhou Lingyin Temple (also known as the Yunlin Temple). This Temple was first built in 326 AD by the Indian eminent monk Hui Li. Till this day, this temple has remained one of the largest Zen Buddhist Temples in all of China, with the Largest Statue of Buddha (over 81 feet tall) in the Center Hall. No pictures were allowed inside the Temple buildings.

As you walk up a path to this Temple, there is a stone cliff. Through out this stone cliff there are over 1000 different statues of Buddhas carved into the cliff wall.

The laughing Buddha is one of the most famous Buddhas in the world. The Chinese have really nice saying: "Tolerate the worldly unbearable things with a large belly, Laugh at any ridiculous mortal with the open mouth."

After walking through the beautiful area, we arrived at the Temple.

We walked through the buildings, marveling at the statues and admiring the scenery.

After the Temple, we went up the the Tea Village near by. Zhejiang Provence is World famous for their green tea. According the the tea expert, known the Americans as Dr. Tea, Starbucks comes to this village to get it's Green Tea. So we bought some tea, luckily we had a pot big enough to make it in.

After a long day, the boys we zonked out...
...and so are we. Good Night.

2007-09-11T19:20:00.000-04:00

Pictures From Today...

Today we finalized Saxton's Adoption at the Civil Affairs Office in Hangzhou. Saxton is offically ours.

After the Civil Affairs Office, we went to the Police Station to start the process for Saxton's Passport. The we went to the West Lake for a boat tour of the islands. Here are some pictures from today.

2007-09-10T18:12:00.000-04:00

We Made it through the first Night...

Here is the first picture of the boys sitting together. Sawyer might look angry, but at this point he was ready to go down for the night. Especially after a day that changed his life forever.

Saxton seems to be adjusting fairly well, so last evening we decided that we needed to get out of the Hotel and we went for a walk down to the West Lake. It is a beautiful, big lake with people all around. They had men along the shore trying to get you to take a ride in their water taxi, huge pagoda boats that will take you in Lake tours... .

and people all around wanting to take pictures with the Americans. It was a great experience and the people here are very nice. Of course, Sawyer fell asleep once we left to hotel because he really has not adjusted to the time change, yet.

Saxton fell asleep last night about 8:00 and slept through the night. Sawyer on the other hand woke up at midnight and did not want to go back to sleep until 3:00 am.

The only real concerns we have is that Saxton is really wobbly. He doesn't walk well, but he is getting used to not having so many clothes on. Today we finalize the adoption in the Provence and then go to the police station to get his passport paperwork started. Another busy day here in Hangzhou.

2007-09-10T02:53:00.000-04:00

We have Saxton in our Arms...

Today we went to the Civil Affairs Office in Hangzhou and to our surprise, Saxton was already in the building waiting for us. Well, sort of. Ya see, we walked into this room where another couple, that is in our travel group, were handed their baby immediately. We were like, well where is Saxton. Come to find out, on the ride from Yiwu to Hangzhou, Saxton got car sick and threw up all over himself. Therefore, the nanny was in the bathroom cleaning him off.

We finally got Saxton at about 9:15 local time. We could not be any happier that this family just went from three to four. The cutest thing happened shortly afterwards. Saxton started to cry and Sawyer walked over to him and patted him on the head as to say, "it's going to be alright, I've been in your position."

Saxton did arrive in the famous split pants and wearing pink girl sandals. He was so cute.

All in all it was a unbelievably great day except we are having problems posting pictures. So, I will post more later.

2007-09-08T19:45:00.000-04:00

We are in Hangzhou...

After about 24 hours of flying and three hours of driving from Shanghai to Hanzhou, we made it in at midnight local time. Of course we were very tired, but since Sawyer slept a lot on the planes, he was up all night. Therefore, we are even more tired. But we are very excited to be here.

We will post more once we get some rest. Talk to you all soon.

2007-09-06T10:22:00.000-04:00

We Are Leaving Tomorrow...

Tomorrow we start our second journey to China to bring Saxton home. We are very excited and nervous at the same time. Thank goodness our friend Kim is coming along to help out.

So tomorrow we start our day at 4:00 am. We will leave for the airport at 5:00 am. After about 24 hours of flight, we will arrive in Shanghai. From there we will take a two hour van ride to our hotel in Hangzhou. We will have a day to get acclimated and then will meet Saxton for the first time on Monday the 10th.

Wish us luck and keep watching for daily updates.

Thanks
Scott, Shelby, Sawyer and soon Saxton

2007-09-01T19:57:00.000-04:00

Less Than A Week....

We have less than a week to go before we leave to bring Saxton home. It really hit us today when we received our plane tickets in the mail. Are we really leaving on Friday, this Friday? No way!!

Well, since panic mode has set in, we pulled all of our luggage out of the cellar, went to Target to buy toys for the trip to keep Sawyer and Saxton busy on the plane rides, and started cleaning the house from top to bottom. It just seems like it is coming on so fast. How did we get through this the first time?

Our friend Kim will be coming down from Boston tomorrow to help us out this last week before our lives change, again. I would like to get as much done on the boys' room before we leave. Our friend Jim came over the other day and helped me get the new drywall on the ceiling of the boys room. I can tell you it is a lot easier when there is two people holding the drywall. The jack helped too. Thank you for your help Jim.

Last weekend we had a garage sale. We started pulling things out at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for the 8:00 am start. By 6:30 we had our first early birds. We sold more stuff by 8:30 am then we did the rest of the day. When we planned this sale, we had no idea the money raised would go to a new refrigerator since the old one died on us a day before. But, the good news is we bought a fridge big enough to store food for our two growing boys. BTW-Thank you Susan, Jon and Alice for bringing over the fresh doughnuts. Sawyer loved them, (so did I).

Today while Mommy was grocery shopping, Sawyer had some Daddy time. Isn't he cute?

2007-08-27T12:24:00.001-04:00

It Has Finally Arrived!!!!

We have finally received our TA, TODAY!!! We have also confirmed our Consulate appointment for the 17th of September. We are in the process of finalizing the travel plans, but we are definitely leaving on the next Friday, September 7th.

Here we come Saxton!!! We can not wait to bring you home!!!

We also need to send out a Congratulations to our very good friends Mike, Nancy and Melanie who have received their referral for their second precious little daughter Harley. Here's to traveling soon!!!

2007-08-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

A BIG THANK YOU!!!!!

The other day we recieved a very unexpected, but wonderful letter from a very special person:

"My name is J and I am on the Yiwu SWIgroup list. A couple of years ago our family traveled back to China with my now 12 year old daughter withOCDF Reunion tour. We had an opportunity to visit the orphanage and we wanted to start a medical fund to support some of the children who needed cleft lip surgeries. Through our Yiwu list we raised some money and sent it back for these children to get their surgeries. OCDF just sent me photos of the children that received urgeries. I looked at our list and your Ni Xia Wei(Saxton) was one of our children. I wanted you to see the photos before I sent them to the whole group thanking them for their support in helping 2 of the children. I don't know if you have any photos yet, but this is very special. I am not sure what your timeline is for adoption, but when I saw your names I just wanted to send these off to you first. What a beautiful child! Warm regards,J."

We can not express enough how this makes us feel. Thank you so much for helping Saxton obtain his surgery that he needed so much. It is truly astonishing that people, who are totally unknown to us, would help a child and a family they don't even know.

Thank you for such an amazing gift both to us and to our son.

2007-08-21T14:40:00.000-04:00

New Song and New Picture of Saxton.... The Song says it all.....

Faith Hill's If My Heart Had Wings

BTW-We were told that our TA is on it's way!!! More detail to come after a word from our sponsor.

2007-08-20T07:55:00.000-04:00

What do I do??

I know we've been through this once before, but it seems that you are never prepared enough for what is coming. That's right people, PANIC MODE has officially set in.

It happened yesterday when we were shopping for toys at Target for Sawyer and Saxton when Shelby said, "do you know where those travel size shampoos and stuff are?" I felt my stomach drop. All of a sudden I do not have enough time in the day to get everything thing I need to get prepared for the chaos that will soon be known as the S & S tag team champions of the world.

Last Thursday, I started the remodel on the boys' room. Not to my surprise, the was no insulation in the walls (just like our room). So, my mission is to get it insulated and drywalled by the end of the week. Hopefully, I can get this room completely redone before we leave for China in a few weeks.

Besides getting the room done, some of the other things I need to do are:
-Put all the new toys together that we will buy over the next few weeks.

-Clean the house from top to bottom, watch the dogs and Sawyer mess it all up the do it all over again. This will be a bi-weekly exercise until we leave.

-Make five trips to the dump, ten, no, fifteen trips to Home Depot and one trip to Lowes, all while finishing the boys' room. (I tend to forget a few things here and there; at least that is what I tell Shelby, I really like looking at the tools).

-Get the dogs baths, so they don't stink for the pet sitter.

-And finally, we will need to pack, then repack, then repack again, then repack again.... By the time we leave for China, we should have everything we need in our suitcases, but still feel like we do not have enough.

Have a good week.

PS-More picture of Sawyer will be posted shortly. I know that you sick people don't come here to look at what I have to write, but to see pictures of the little man. Well, I don't blame you one bit!!

2007-08-06T16:20:00.000-04:00

It's day 85....

Shelby got a call this morning from our agency. On the other end of the phone was the Director, Kathy. At first, Shelby thought that there was nothing to do about nothing. Then from out of no where, like a sudden warm wind coming from the East, like the first ray of sunshine on your brow first thing in the morning, a sudden calm came over the telephone line...

WE GOT OUR LOA PEOPLE!!! YAHOOOOOOO!!!!

Now let the fun that is preparation begin....I will give more details as they become available. Stay tuned.

2007-07-29T13:06:00.000-04:00

July 24th 2006....

On Tuesday of this past week, we celebrated Sawyer's Adoption Day. Over the past year, we have seen Sawyer blossom from the scared little boy in Kunming wondering who these people were and why they were taking him away from the only world he had ever known:

to an out going, handsome little man who loves to play with Mama, Baba and his dogs:

So, since I haven't done one of these in awhile, I thought I would do a top ten list of things I thought I would never know after having a child:

10. I can sing every line to the Wiggles Big Red Car: "Toot, toot, chugga, chugga, Big Red Car..."

9. Unless you want your kitchen walls painted by a two year artist, sit close by your child when he eats.

8. Elmo loves to be tickled.

7. Pop beads can entertain a child for hours on a long road trip. I never thought putting beads together then breaking them apart was so much fun.

6. The Doodlebops.

5. Stacking blocks are not only for stacking, they can be used as a throwing toys for the dogs, clothes softener (if you put them in the washing machine, your clothes will be beaten to a pulp by the blocks) or a Daddy ankle twisting tool (this is a sure fire way to get me to the floor where Sawyer can look me in the eye and say "let's play horsey"). Disclaimer: Sawyer is not talking yet, he says it in the only way he know how; by jumping up and down on my back as I am screaming in pain, holding my ankle.

4. Dogs love to be fed by a laughing little boy in a high chair.

3. Toilets are not only for going to the bathroom, they are also a poor kids swimming pool with many little water falls and a fresh water refill button.

2. Your bed must be able to fit Mom, Dad, Sawyer and the dogs when there is a thunder storm.

And Finally...

1. No matter what the boy does (ie: stick his building blocks behind the refrigerator; play in the dogs' water bowl as if it where his own personal water basin; takes his beach ball, puts it under Daddy's feet as he is carrying a load of laundry up the stairs and laughs as he watches Daddy fall down the stairs and crash through the safety gate), he is always going to be one of the two cutest boys in whole world.

BRING ON SAXTON!!!!

2007-07-18T10:38:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Saxton!!!

Today is Saxton's Second Birthday. My only wish is that we could have spent it with him, but we all will be together soon. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAXTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will be there before you know it!!!

On a side note, exactly one year ago today, we received our TA (Travel Authorization) for Sawyer). Today we are on day 66 of our wait for Saxton's.

2007-07-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

Day 51...

We are on Day 51 of out wait for our LOA for Saxton. So what has been going on this last couple of weeks to keep us busy? Well...A LOT!!

I have been finishing up the master bedroom and getting ready to redo the boys' room. Hopefully, I can get it done before we have to leave for Saxton.

Last week, we had our first appointment with the Cranial Facial team Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). To be honest, we miss the team in Seattle. They tended to be more progressive then the team at CHOP.

Furthermore, on Monday of last week, we took Sawyer to a Developmental Neurologist. She found that Sawyer tested on the spectrum for Autism. This will open a lot of doors for treatment for Sawyer.

While his developmental skills are progressing at a fast pace, his speech has not. We can not tell him to come here and sit down, or to go pick up a ball and bring it to daddy. He will, on occasion, listen to us and do what we ask, but it is not a consistent basis. I would point out that it has taken us 11 months and numerous visits with multiple doctors to get Sawyer officially diagnosed. This is not something that can be diagnosed in one visit or over the phone (as has happened on numerous occasions within the adoptive community). And even after all the work that led up to Sawyer's diagnosis, the doctors are still not convinced that Sawyer does indeed have "organic autism" and that he may just be significantly delayed due to "institutional autism." Regardless, Sawyer has been progressing and thriving with his increased level of therapy. And we hope that within the next few years, he will be at a point where he can enter mainstream kindergarten/elementary school. Although I don't want to gloss this over, I do have to say that Sawyer is resilient and with effort on our part, will most likely lead a"normal" and "productive" life.

We knew in China that Sawyer was not where he was supposed to be developmentally and that he had behaviors that have been discussed with some frequency on other blogs discussing autism, PDD and disruption. However, we made a commitment to Sawyer and although we were scared with what life might hold for us all, we chose the only "choice" we had - to bring Sawyer home as our son. Neither one of us is perfect and we would never expect our child to live up to expectations we (or anyone else for that matter) could not ever meet. More importantly, Sawyer has been a blessing beyond words - he is truly an amazing individual with the most generous and loving spirit I have ever encountered. His life would have been tough had we chose to disrupt in China, but our lives would have been hollow and unfulfilled without him. I can not even imagine not waking up to see his smile everyday. And although both Shelby and I sometimes long to hear him call us Mama and Baba, we have been rewarded instead with a child who makes us laugh, gives us hugs and kisses, and loves us each in his own way.

In summary, adoption is not always rainbows and lady bugs. Although most children do adjust quickly to their new parents and new life, some children take months; it took Sawyer six months to even look me in the eyes or trust me when he had a boo boo. From my research and from talking to other parents in the adoption community, my story is NOT unusual. Many children have had the same behaviors and responses that Sawyer has or had while in China and at home . We are getting help through the county we live in via Early Intervention (EI) and through CHOP. Most of them DO NOT cost anything extra than what we would have had to pay if we had a perfectly health boy. Instead of taking him to the doctor for a bumped knee, we take him to the doctor or therapist for speech therapy and PT/OT.

Now, if only he would stop playing kissy face with the little red-headed cutie at daycare...I swear Shelby is going to have a breakdown if we get one more report that "her baby boy" has a girlfriend. I keep telling her that Sawyer can't help it - he's just too darn cute!!!!!!

By the way:

2007-06-17T17:37:00.000-04:00

Happy Father's Day

Today was a great day. We went out to Point Pleasent on the Jersey Shore - which is less than an hour from where we live. Sawyer had a great time being on the beach and feeling the waves splash against him.

The funny thing is, he would not walk on the beach, or in the water. He only wanted to sit on our laps and watch the wave come in.

After the beach, we walked on the board walk and Sawyer ate his first ice cream cone all by himself.

The only thing that could of made this one better is if Saxton was here to enjoy it with his big brother, his Mother and me. So, on this day 35 of our wait for our LOA for Saxton, I hope every father out there in Bloggerland had a great Father's Day.

2007-06-01T12:40:00.000-04:00

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are officially logged in as of May 14th, 2007!!! Let the waiting game begin.

2007-05-29T06:23:00.000-04:00

Oh What a Memorial Day Weekend...

This weekend started off with a bang. Just before we left to go to see Shelby's family in Massachusetts, we got the video and picture CD from our friend Eric who was over in China recently. He and his wife Stacy are adopting a little girl from the same orphanage as Saxton, so he made a visit to the Yiwu Social Welfare Institute. He was able to get some great video of Saxton and his daughter playing with the nannies.

We are proud to say that Saxton is full of energy. He was clapping and dancing with the nannies as they sang songs to the Saxton and Grace. It was very exciting to see him in motion and to hear his little voice say "a-ee." We must have shown the video to different members of Shelby's family at least ten times. But every time we were excited to see Saxton, as if it were the first time we saw him. By the way, my arm is black and blue from where Shelby kept hitting me and saying, "DID YOU SEE HIM!!! HE'S DANCING AND CLAPPING!!!" Oh well, they are great love taps and I couldn't be more excited.

We had a great weekend up in Massachusetts. Sawyer's (and Saxton's) Bupshi and Papa spoiled him with gifts. What else are Grandparents for?

Then we celebrated Shelby's Birthday (which is this Sunday) with a beautiful cake...

...and some fireworks!!!

We hope you all had a great weekend!! I know we did!!!

2007-05-19T22:30:00.000-04:00

Missing Mommy....

Last week Shelby was on a business trip to Copenhagen, Denmark. While she was gallivanting around the world, Sawyer and I were bummed that we couldn't go with her on this trip.

So, while we sat on the couch and did the guy thing (watch any sport on TV even if we don't like it), I thought I would update you all on what is going on.

Last week we started occupational therapy for Sawyer. While he has made a great amount of progress over the last few months, he is still very behind on talking - he is not vocal at all. The Philadelphia area Early Intervention group is awesome to work with and seem to be more in tuned to what we, as a family, can do to help Sawyer progress further. This past Tuesday, we had his first appointment with the pediatric doctor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She gave Sawyer a clean bill of health and got us started on getting acquainted with the Cranial Facial Team at CHOP.

On the house front - just like our house in Maple Valley, this house needs some updates. So we started in the master bedroom. Of course nothing goes as planned. We originally thought that we could rip up the carpet the previous owner put over very nice hardwood floors and refinish them. Well, when I was taking off the baseboard, it went through the wall. The room now looks like this:

Hopefully in a week or two, I will have it all back together.

Just today, the dishwasher died, too. So, Sawyer and I took a look at it.

Tomorrow, Sawyer and I will be replacing this dishwasher with a new one. HOW FUN!!

OKAY!! I know the real reason you people come here..... AND NOW THE STAR OF THE SHOW....SAWYER!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-05-01T17:59:00.000-04:00

We Are DTC!!!

We were informed that Saxton's paperwork has been sent to the CCAA, TODAY. Sawyer's Little Brother is one step closer to coming home!! We are very excited.

So let the buying begin. We basically need to double everything that we have for Sawyer. Today we bought a double stroller so they can sit side by side. Once we get our room refinished, we will put the finishing touches on their room.

If all goes well, we should be traveling to China in August or September. Wish us luck!!

2007-04-23T17:51:00.000-04:00

Another Picture!!!

A very nice gentleman by the name of Eric was on a business trip to China and he was able to get permission to go to the YiWU Orphanage to spend some time with his daughter and Saxton. He took the picture I posted this morning and a couple other ones. We still have not got an update, yet, but we will post it once we do.

Here is a picture of Saxton walking around the orphanage. Thanks Eric for the pictures, we can not wait to bring him home.

2007-04-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

New Picture of Saxton...

Here is the latest picture of Saxton. We should be getting an update on him soon.

2007-04-15T16:48:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Mike, Nancy, and Melanie!!!!

Mike, Nancy and Melanie are expecting an addition to their lovely family. The will be traveling to Taiwan later this year to bring their four year little girl home. While Shelby, Sawyer and I sit inside during a massive Nor'easter, and watch our backyard flood,...

we can not think of the words to describe how happy we are for them. We are hoping that we are able to time it where we can go over to that part of the world at the same time and meet up in Beijing.

Mike, Nancy and Melanie; Sawyer, Shelby and I are so happy that your long wait is nearing it's end. Congratulations, we can not wait until we see pictures!!! BTW-We really miss you guys!!

For the other people who want to see more pictures of Sawyer, here they are...

Sawyer laughing at Cao

Sawyer's First day at his new play ground..

2007-04-05T20:47:00.000-04:00

We are moved into our New House....

We have moved into our new house. While we are still not organized, we are making progress. Sawyer is LOVING his new backyard. He runs all over the place laughing. Shelby and my dad enjoy sitting on one of the many benches in our back yard, where we all can enjoy watching the birds and Bee Bee chase the squirrels. Thank you all for the nice thoughts. Once we get more organized, I will post more pictures. Talk to you all soon.

2007-03-27T13:09:00.000-04:00

We Are together Again...

After two long weeks apart, we are together again. My father and I arrived in Princeton, NJ at 3:00 am in the morning Eastern Time, after driving nine hours on Sunday and for 18 hours strait, yesterday. We only stopped to let the dogs out to do thair business, get gas and food.

I was extremely happy to see Shelby and Sawyer again. It seemed like I was gone for a couple of months. It is amazing what can happen in a couple of weeks. Sawyer is now tall enough to turn off and on light switches. This should be a fun game for daddy and Sawyer to play.

Well I have to unload to truck, only to reload it again this Friday when we get to move into our new home in Yardley, PA. Enjoy the pictures from today. Talk to you soon.

2007-03-09T09:32:00.001-05:00

The Sun is Setting on the West Coast...

Over the next few weeks, I will be packing up the house, driving across the country with three dogs and then moving into our new house in PA. Luckily I won't have to do the drive alone. My Dad will be flying up to Seattle and will be accompanying me on my voyage to the East Coast. I am very excited for the move and I am going to miss Shelby and Sawyer very much during this transition.
So, wish us luck and we will post when we can on our journey out East.

2007-03-06T01:13:00.001-05:00

Mom and Sawyer are out East...

Shelby, Sawyer and I went out to the East Coast last week to move Shelby into her temporary housing, get Sawyer started at his new daycare and to get Shelby ready for her new job. I, unfortunately, had to come back to Washington to close up shop here and get ready for the final move into our beautiful home in Pennsylvania.

Enough about us!! We know you people really want to see and hear about Sawyer. Sawyer had a rough night the first night we were in temporary housing. Shelby got this great apartment, fully furnished with everything you can think of, but Sawyer did not feel comfortable there and would not go to sleep for us. He finally went to sleep about midnight, but at three in the morning, he started screaming and crying. We tried everything to calm him down, but nothing worked, until....Shelby and I, with the great voices we have (we are talking American Idol preliminary reject. Our voices are so bad, we would be on the show just to see how bad of a nasty comment Simon would give us) starting singing to him. He settled down very quickly. The next day, he settled into his old routine. He is loving his new digs and his new toys. We truly think he likes exploring new places, just as much as we do.

Wish us luck out our move out East.

2007-02-23T01:18:00.000-05:00

We are Moving.....

We are moving to Yardley, Pennsylvania. Shelby has accepted a position at Novo Nordisk in Princeton, New Jersey and will be starting her new job on March the 5th. I, on the other hand, will be staying behind to finalize the sale of our house in Washington.

We will update you all with pictures of our new house, Sawyer's new school, Sawyer's and Saxton's new room and their new backyard. But, for those of you who want to see updated pictures of Sawyer, here they are...

2007-02-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

The Long Overdue Update...

Sawyer is doing GREAT. He is acting like the two year old boy he is. He has been even more vocal since his latest operation. He now is multi-tasking (running and screamming/luaghing). It is so much fun watching him develop and grow. When I get a chance, I will update the blog with some pictures.

2007-01-25T23:53:00.001-05:00

The Surgery is Done.....

His lip revision surgery is completed. The Doctors said he was doing great he would be able to start his recovery in the comforts of his own home. He is already playing with his leap frog table and his books. In no time, he will be back to his old self. We are very tired right now and we will describe the surgery in a later post. Have a good night.

Scott, Shelby & Sawyer (who all are waiting for Saxton).