Happy Belated Thanksgiving

Turkeys By My Turkey

I posted this last Sunday but am finally sharing. Our church starts Christmas program rehearsal the week before Thanksgiving. I asked Sidney how it went driving home from church. "We practiced for the show mom. I'm a wise man,and I have to be stinky." Okay then. Sometimes it's better not to ask. 

"So much to say, so much to say..."

Settle in. This is a long one...

I sat at lunch with Sidney yesterday hardly recognizing the girl wolfing down a hot ham and cheese. I liked observing her routine during this particular part of the day. I was pleasantly surprised the kindergarten and first grade teachers watch over them, standing there making sure they are eating while maintaining a quiet environment until they are done. This might sound a bit overbearing, however this is exactly the environment Sidney needs to focus on eating. 

As I sat with seven first graders, I was moved to heights of popularity. “Are you supposed to stay quiet the whole time you eat,” I asked in stunned silence, looking at them move through the motions. 20 minutes isn’t long when you’re in first grade. “We can talk if we have a visitor,” I was advised. Throughout lunch I was quizzed on math facts and given the rundown of how many kids knew Tom (if you are new to our story - my husband). It seems when you are a heating and cooling person in a small town, most people have had you in their house at one point or another.

So thankful for people like my dad who are veterans. Sidney made this at school. 

As Sidney ate her lunch, I realized it was the second time this week I had seen an area where she has grown. Sometimes we refer to Sidney as an, “old soul.” I should explain first, Sidney is a very happy girl. I think school in many ways has taught her to be a kid. That being said, a child who experiences serious neglect in the first part of their life, in survival mode for extended periods, has a very serious side. It comes out when she is triggered emotionally. This is the face I’m talking about below where she is feeling overwhelmed.

Fueling the machine....Eli is a size 12 shoe and about an inch away from passing me in height. How can this be happening?

She read part of a prayer on Thursday during the schools morning church service. She was allowed to come say hi after the service. I can honestly say it's the widest she has ever smiled at me. It was the most wonderful gift. When I watched her earlier in the front, it was the first time in a while I wondered what her birth parents would think of her. I think of them constantly. But could they comprehend her life and what is available to her?

Tom made the most awesome chicken soup....

And as I read back through this blog a week after I originally wrote it, I can't believe the timing. Out of nowhere the other day Sidney looked outside and said, "It's night time in China right now Mom. Don't ask me how I know. I just do." I continued with a conversation about time and it being a different day in China. "I have a China mom, and I don't know who she is. I don't even know her name." 

I don't know why, but whenever this stuff comes up I become completely calm and am able to talk about it without feeling upset or becoming emotional. I think it's what I know I have to do for her to deal with the situation best as she grows up.

"Yes Sidney,  but God knows her name. He knows her, and he watches over her." "I know Mom." It's those moments that snap me back into the reality of why I speak so openingly about her adoption, about her story, about what goes on in this part of the world. 

 I talked with my adoptive moms from our travel group on Facebook. They are amazing. We are immediately able to understand one another in that moment. We are all walking the same road. It's in those moments I am entirely thankful for social media. Within minutes of sharing, my message indicator lit up. And they were so encouraging, letting me know this is so positive. She is talking about it.

I could go on forever, but I will share more in the coming weeks. 

And the award for best costume is...

Trick or treating was spent chasing behind two first graders. My niece in the middle and Sidney were almost at a dead run until we slowed them down. Tom is from a town small enough you can go door to door. This was only after Sidney and I  completed our downtown. Let's say it was a relief to see her with her cousin carefree. Too much noise and excess energy are not always easy for Sidney.

I was grateful it was Friday night and I didn't have to get her up early the next day. That is until construction across the street resumed at 7:40am. Our previous neighbors moved and the house was torn down making way for new construction.

Eli seemed to take it okay that he was not going to be able to take part in the festivities and instead sat with Grandpa Rich watching some kind of wilderness survival reality show. I tell Tom I need way too many creature comforts and critique why anyone might want to endure such hardship while he tries to drown out my voice.

I want to mention Orphan Sunday despite the fact that I am late.  Children anywhere without a family are a heartache. I sometimes grow weary of people's lack of attention and treating the situation no matter where the child as something completely off the radar.  We can at least pray. I am climbing of my soapbox. 

20 minutes to bedtime. The days are entirely too fast.

August Rewind

I had to rewind a bit to August and a weekend with cousin Finn staying at Grandma Jeans house for the weekened.  Eli is such a good sport with his cousin. What other 12 year old will put on a blindfold and participate in his cousin's 5 year old birthday party game. Especially a 12 year old that is only a couple of inches away from being as tall as his 5 ft 9 mother. 

That About Says It...

Artwork is courtesy of Sidney....

  "Those of us who are Chinese adoptive parents cannot simply come home with our own incredible blessing and then forget all the children who still wait. China gave us the absolute honor to parent a child from that country, and I hope we will turn the love we feel for our own children into action: to help even more incredible kids find homes." Love Without Boundaries

Saturday Night

Saturday night, a movie on cable I’ve seen bits of a million times, and finally am sitting down to watch the whole thing. I’m thinking about Sidney before she went to bed and watching her carrying her  “caboodle,” everywhere. Think fishing tackle box that’s pink and purple with princesses on the lid. 

All ready for school. See you later mom!

All of her treasured items. She can be found taking it upstairs at bedtime and hauling it back down in the morning. Sometimes she sleeps with it next to her. The contents are always changing but at any given time typically include hair accessories, plastic necklaces, spare change inside a tin left over from mints, and plastic necklaces. A girl never knows what she’s going to need. Sometimes I wish I could lock my kids in childhood just a little longer.

Parade route ending on opposite side of town from the instrument case
means a free concert in your car.

In other news, I have to report that 1^st Grade and 7^th grade have started smoothly. This year more than others is a natural progression. 1^st Grade means Sidney is on her second year of day long school, and Eli is in the same place. We were convinced public school was right for him until we starting putting more thought into the academic side. It’s frightening when you start mapping it out in 7^th grade, planning how they will impact him by 12^th grade. 

Noodle time.....

It’s also hard enough to have size 12 shoes when you’re 12 years old, that. Eli just got through telling me he’s fallen over backward in a chair in school three times already in the month they’ve been back in school. Crazy!