Saber Takes a Bath w/Lotus(7/29/2008)

Our large half husky half chocolate lab decided to jump in the tub with Lotus the other night while Kevin was giving Lotus a bath. I couldn't believe my eyes. And Lotus could not believe that Saber was in the bath tub with her. She yelled DOOOOOGGGG! DOOOOGGGG! It was definitely a moment to remember.

Deb

Community Day (July 26th)

This past Saturday was Community Day in our town sponsored by the Fire Company. We decided to go because I read on the signs Pony Rides, so I thought cool Lotus can have her first Pony ride. It was a nice event, there was a flea market, live country band, rides and fair games, funnel cake and other such yummies. Lotus had alot of fun on the rides and the huge inflatable slides and moon bounce. The downside of the day was it was extremely HOT! We were melting. But Lotus was a trooper, she handled the heat no sweat. Of course Lotus won a spikey ball to add to her collection of balls. She also was given a fire chief hat and a pink bunny (to add to her stuffed animal collection.) Daddy also bought her a princess crown which she happily wore the rest of the day. It was great spending the day together.

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Sunday Dinner with Friends

A few sunday's ago we had the pleasure of visiting our friends the Wen's, Hong and Charles, at their house. It was a nice evening, enjoyed good food and company . We found out that Lotus likes green peppers and onions, go figure! Of course the whole time Lotus was performing for everyone. Photos to come. Thank you Hong and Charles for a nice visit, your hospitality was very much appreciated.


Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

The Story of Poo-Poo!

About a month ago we got Lotus a potty seat to start training. Nothing major, we would have her sit on it before her bath, when waking up, no pressure, mostly introducing her to it. She has had 2 tinkles in the beginning, then nothing. She would get on get off get on , etc. So I bought her Clean Team wipes just for her, which she loved. Lately, when it looked like she was poo-poo-ing I would ask do you want to go on the potty. She would run in to the potty but it was always after the fact. Tonight after her bath, I asked if she wanted to sit on the potty. She was interested so we started out with her holding her box of Clean Team wipes to keep her on the seat. To keep her on longer I grabbed her bath book which has alot pics that she likes to read and tell me what everything is over and over again. She sat there for several minutes, reading her book. And low and behold, I heard a few plunks! Lotus had her first poopy on the potty! She jumped down, we looked in the toilet, clapped, and jumped up and down. Yipppppeeeee Lotus! Mommy and Daddy are so very proud of you!

I Have Been Tagged!

I was recently tagged by Trish who was in China last Nov adopting her daughter Izzy, when we were adopting our daughter Lotus. The rules of tagging is to list six words that describe me and tag five new people. Here are my six words;

Organized, everything needs to be organized! I hate clutter, when my house becomes cluttered it clutters my mind and I must organize and fix the clutter. My therapy is organizing a closet or cabinet. Everything needs a place, bins, baskets, oh my! Now of course with an almost 2 year old, I have had to learn to deal with some clutter. Hopefully this will rub off on Lotus.

Planner, there needs to be a plan! I need to know what time are we leaving, where are we going, what are we doing, etc. Not that we cannot deviate from the plan, I can be spontaneous (as a almost two year old will let me) and throw caution to the wind. I just prefer to be prepared. In my job I deal with project management on a daily basis, so I guess this has filtered to my home life. As long as I do not chart out our next vacation in excel we should be good. Although for our trip to China there were lots of spread sheets and lists!

Demanding, yes I can be! I hate to admit it. I do want things when I want them, not when people feel like getting around to it. I think impatient might be a better word! Sometimes I expect more from people since I expect so much from myself. My husband does a pretty good job of putting up with my impatience.

Humble (Modest), do not need the spotlight, do not want praise for random acts of kindness. I like to do the things I do because I want to do them, not for any notoriety or praise.

Loyal, very faithful to family and friends, through hard times and good times I will stand by you and support you. I believe a person's wealth is not measured by money or materialistic things but by who you are as a person and how you treat others.

Blessed, I am loved very much by my husband, daughter, and family. We live in a house filled with love; we tell each other and show each other everyday. I am thankful Kevin came into my life six years ago. We have created wonderful life together and have a very bright future ahead of us.

Whew, that was tough! Now for the next group of victims! I am tagging the following people;

• The Story of Us-Adreanna
• Room to Bloom-Michelle
• 6 Pages In Our Book-Ella
• A Play on Life-Kellyann
• Livin' La Vida Lia
• Katie Min Min

Hopefully you will play along!

Take care,

Deb

More Artistic Creations

Fun with Photo Editing!

Coming home from party, all hyped on dancing!


Our Princess in Training! She loves to be in her bathing suit and in the pool!

The Whitnic (July 20th)

This past Sunday we all attended the 2nd Annual Whitnic at our friends the Whitty's house. It was a great time and fun to see every from the group. Lotus had a great time in the pool and playing with Jace. I enjoyed some adult conversation and great food when not chasing after Lotus, after Kevin left for work. From this party Lotus learned from Taylor to float and kick with her swimmies on. Now Lotus does not want us to hold her hands, she wants to float by herself and check back with us. She won't let us go far, not that we would want to. Everytime we get together with the group, she learns something from the older girls. Enjoy the photos

Love,

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Another B-day Party (July 12th).............

Kevin, Lotus, and I attened Nicholas 21st Birthday & Graduation party on July 12th. This is such an amazing accomplishment for Nicholas, especially since he has CP, is deaf, developmentally delayed, and various other medical issues. Many thought he would not make this far and he proved everyone wrong! We were honored to be a part of his special day. Lotus had a great time, dancing like a maniac! She loves to dance......enjoy the photos.

Love,
Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Lotus Sleeps in Big Girl Bed on Monday Night !!!!!!! (July 7th)

We kept saying every week we needed to convert Lotus' crib to a toddler bed with half rail, especially since she was starting to climb and did get her knee stuck on day in her crib slats. We finally took the plunge and switched out her crib on a Monday night. Of course Lotus was interested in what Mommy was doing to her crib and kept coming up to me and checking things out. I had piled her sleep buddies (hello kitty, glo worm, a monkey, 2 baby dolls, turtle, bunny rabbit, 2 Kung Fu Panda Po's, and her little blankie) off to the side till I was done. Once I was finished Lotus went over to the pile and started putting them in her bed. It was such a cute moment. Then it was bed time, which went quite well. We did our ritual, lotion on face, read a book (sometimes twice), turn on her music, lay her down, pull up the blanket, and place a Po under each arm. Lotus gives multiple kisses and then it is lights off! She did GREAT her first night. Here are pics of this big milestone.

And now for the photos of the morning after:


And nap time:


Lotus is doing very well with the transiton to her big girl bed. There were a few issues with nap time since the room is not as dark as it is at night. I think after a few weeks we are turning a corner. Today she actually got up in bed herself and laid down with no fuss. She is growing up so fast. It is great to see how much she has learned and grown in just 8 1/2 months. I can only imagine what she will learn next.

Enjoy the pics!

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

Happy Fourth of July!!!

At the last minute we ended up having a Fourth of July Picnic at our house with almost everyone in the family. The girls from next door came over to play with Lotus and her cousins. We had a great time, good food, and ended with some fire works next door. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos of the good time. It was a crazy day, at one point I was watching 8 kids. So photos was the last thing on my mind. The next day we did hang out at mom-mom's with everyone, including Sandy and Jay. It was a good and busy weekend! It was nice to spend time with everyone. I do have one photo of Lotus from the weekend.

Enjoy!

Deb, Kevin, and Lotus

One Year Ago Today

A year ago today started out like any typical Monday. Hit the snooze on the alarm clock about five times and then pull myself out of bed and into the shower.

A year ago today started out like any typical Monday. We had been back from vacation for about a week and how I wished we were back on the cruise ship. Oh well, vacation cannot last forever, although one can dream. Before we left for vacation CCAI had received the latest waiting child list, I was hopeful but didn't want to invest too many emotions that our daughter was on this list. I couldn't do it to myself again. I was so sure she was on the last list and was so heart broken when all the referrals were out and she was not to be found. I talked to one of the WC ladies and she said maybe the next one, but most likely the one after that, it just depends on the children on the list. So I tried to not emotionally invest in maybes. Even though it was just a mere 16 months since we sent our application into the CCAI, I have been waiting to be a mother for the longest time. I was over the wait and couldn't stand to see another pregnant woman or go to another baby shower. Kevin was sure it was our turn this time, that our daughter was on this list. I for a change was skeptical one. But Kevin insisted we would get the call.

A year ago today, I went to work like any typical Monday. Traffic was light, as it was Fourth of July week, so I travelled rather quickly. At my desk with some coffee, check some emails and off to an all morning meeting. For some strange reason I decided to take my pager to the meeting, not knowing what was in store before the meeting was over. Amongst process maps and discussions, my pager goes off! It is a 911 page to call home, I jumped up, I thought something serious had happened! I ran back to my desk and quickly called home. Kevin answered the phone and told me I wouldn't believe what happened, "I came upstairs and the cats started a fire in the kitchen!" As I was trying to wrap my brain around the cats and a fire. He tells me "We got the call, we have a match!" I was speechless, I couldn't believe his words. When I called home I was not expecting this news, I did not expect to hear we got the call. Kevin told me she is 10 months old and told Pam to email her file to me. I quickly forwarded the email to him so we could look together. I waited what seemed a life time for the email to reach him. We looked at the same time and fell in love. She was our daughter! I called Pam (CCAI) and talked about Wu Chun Qiu and asked for her complete file to be FedEx to us. The excitement was over whelming. I ran back to my meeting and couldn't speak! One of my colleagues exclaimed, "You got the call" . The meeting was wrapping up so I went back to my desk to make some calls and forward her file to CHOP. I was on Cloud 9, 10, 11, and 12! My manager sent me home to celebrate with Kevin. I was grateful, my mind was spinning and I could not concentrate on work for sure. My drive home seemed to take forever! Once home, we shared our news with our closest family members! It was an amazing day.

A year ago today ended not so typical, a little baby girl in China found her way to us! And we were blessed with Lotus ChunQiu! She has added so much joy, happiness, and love to our lives. This day I will remember forever.

For those waiting for your referral call or waiting for TA, be patient, the wait is really worth it! I use to hate hearing that phrase while waiting, but everyone was right! The wait time fads away the moment your child is placed in your arms. I would get so upset every time we hit a road block along the way, I felt it was making our wait time longer and longer. I now believe these road blocks happened so Lotus would make her way to us. And when the time was right, she found us, the timing was perfect! We are the proud parents of such an amazing little girl who has changed our lives so much. We look forward to watching her grown up into a beautiful young woman, blossoming like a Lotus flower in the early morning, reaching her fullest potential.

Love,

Deb and Kevin

The first few photos of our daughter