The Firstbrook Five

One year ago today . . .

we were waiting by the phone . . . pacing the floors . . . praying . . . tracking DHL online . . . eating junk food . . . crying . . . waiting . . . surrounded by friends . . . .
and then this happened

The long awaited phone call . . . a name . . . a location . . . an age. All those months of waiting culminating in one very brief phone conversation.

And then the waiting began again as we watched our inbox . . . more tears . . . more pacing . . . more friends arrived . . .
and then we saw this

I wish I could tell you some kind of profound words came out of my mouth when I first laid eyes on that little face . . . but I'm pretty sure the conversation went something like this:
"Oh, look at her, look at her, look at her!!!!"
"I think she might need a comb over - check out that hair!"
"She has little Yoda ears, don't ya think?"
"Oh, she's just adorable . . . so cute . . . crazy cute . . . right . . . I mean she is cute, right, it's not just me? Please someone tell me she's as cute as I think she is!!!"

Profound. Deeply profound, don't you all agree?

Last February 28th was an amazing day. It wasn't just amazing because we finally saw our Katie Mei, it was amazing because we were surrounded by so much love and laughter. We received gazillions of emails that day by friends near and far . . . from email buddies, family friends, friends of friends, you name it. Our house was a constant stream of friends here in town, all wanting to catch a glimpse of the long-awaited, long prayed-for, Katie Mei. I can not even begin to express what a treat it was to share our day with so many . . . and that so many wanted to participate in the day with us.

We recognize that Katie belongs to God first . . . He created her, He has sustained her, He has loved her from the very start. And now Katie belongs to us through the miracle of adoption . . . we worked for her, waited for her, prayed for her. But Katie belongs to all of you, too. So many of you held our hands, watched our kids, prayed with us and for us, knit scarves for kids in China, emailed us, called us and most importantly loved Katie and prayed for her, right from the start.

She really belongs to all of us . . . she is a blessed child indeed, to be so wanted and so loved by so many.

Happy New Year!

It's the Year of the Pig . . . and we've been celebrating all week long! Geesh, in China, they celebrate the new year for an entire week - and so we decided to stretch our celebration out over this past week as well! :)
We started out by visiting Chinatown in San Francisco last Monday. We loaded up the SUV, packed water bottles, a stroller and lots and lots of jackets and headed 2 hours north. We made it to SF before noon and soon realized that we would need to shed most of our layers - it was a beautiful day! The streets of Chinatown were littered with red paper scraps - leftovers from firecrackers the previous night. We wandered in and out of shops, ate lunch, even watched a traditional "lion dance" go up and down the street. It was just as we had imagined and hoped! Katie seemed totally content and unimpressed were her "familiar" surroundings. As long as we kept popping in fortune cookie rejects purchased at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory - we were good to go!

Kelsey and Emily completely enjoyed their first Cable Car ride . . . Kelsey even stood on the outside while we were traveling across town! :) As we would climb up a hill, Emily would remind me, "make sure you hold your hands up when we go down!" And sure enough, as we headed down a hill, up her hands would go - just as if we were on a roller coaster! Fun stuff! I don't really have great pics from the day . . . I decided I would just sit back and enjoy that day, rather than watching from behind a camera. I'm glad I did!

Today we headed down to Seaside to celebrate the New Year with other families with children from China. We've been meaning to connect with this group of adoptive parents, but just haven't made the time to do so - until now! We all met at a Chinese restaurant and the chaos ensued! :) It was great to reconnect with my friend Shannon, who brought her daughter home through All God's Children, as well. Shannon and her family are now getting closer to bringing home their next daughter, Phoebe, from China! We also met tons of great families - seriously - everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming and it was so amazing to see so many beautiful China daughters!

One of the highlights of the day was meeting Stacey and her family - including cutie patootie Ryleigh from China! Stacey emailed me early on in our paperchase for Katie and we've emailed off and on since then. They only live 45 minutes away, but again, we've just never made a big enough effort to meet them - until today! I'd post pics of Katie and Ryleigh together - but trust me - Katie was not cooperative!

And that brings me to this . . .
you know how in every crowd, at every social function, there's always that one child. You know what I mean - that child who is crying and clingy and whiney and obstinate and annoying. Well guess what?! That child is our child. It's Katie. I'm serious. I'm thinking Katie just doesn't like a crowd, but if I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times today, "Boy, Katie sure does have attitude, doesn't she?!" Um, yes. You could say that. Thankfully we also heard, "Oh, Katie is so cute!" and "Oh, she sure does love her Mommy, doesn't she?" Those words helped. But not so much when your kiddo is screaming about being fed by a fork instead of a spoon and refuses white cake because she sees her sister eating chocolate. Attitude. And opinions. Lots of them.

Good thing she's so cute . . . as you'll soon see:

And lest you forget we have THREE super cute kids . . . for your viewing pleasure:

Katie's favorite past times

Katie's been busy lately . . .

Coloring. Lots of coloring. And she's discovered she fits perfectly into our cute little vintage school desk. Too bad that's also Emily's favorite spot. I'm thinking Emily's been ousted and Katie's set up permanent residence. When we turn on the ipod (right on the bookcase behind the desk), Katie climbs up onto the chair and rocks out to the music. Happy as a clam.

Talking on the phone is also a new favorite of Katie's! Whenever I'm on the phone, she's pulling on my pant leg, begging, "hello, hello, HELLO?!?!" She loves to talk to Grandma and Grandpa. I've got them primed and ready with questions . . . what are you doing? what did you eat today? did you watch tv? what does the cow say? You get the picture. Exciting, stimulating conversation to say the least!

Obviously, Katie thinks she's interesting:

The best part of any phone conversation with Katie is the ending. She always tells you that she "wuvs you" and then gives you a big smooch:

I do think Katie's favorite past time is posing for the camera. I swear, she knows when she's looking cute. She actually poses for the camera now - she smiles at us, turns to the side, and flares out her arms. It's hilarious. Seriously.

We know you'll all agree - everybody does love this certain brown eyed girl!!!!

Eliana

Just a quick update . . . my friend Lisa and her husband Nathan are in China and last night while we slept, they became parents for the third time . . .

that's right, Eliana is now in their arms! To read their journal, please go here. Don't forget to click on the "photos" tab to see all the pictures of their cutie patootie.

Just some highlights . . . Eliana is much tinier than expected, and many of the girls in their travel group, including Eliana, have pneumonia. Please be praying for these sweet little ones as they begin the bonding process while being so sick! Lisa wrote that they must travel to the clinic each day this week so Eliana can receive IV antibiotics - I can't imagine how stressful that will be - but as we know - God is good and He will provide all they need!

Survived

Well, they survived. I survived. The house survived.

God is good.

You see, I was away this weekend . . . away from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. Away from the house, away from Ron, Kelsey, Emily and Katie. Now, I knew the first 3 would be ok . . . but that Katie . . . she's um, well, unpredictable. Predictably unpredictable.

Last week she woke up almost every night for an hour or two between the lovely hours of 3am - 4am. Not ok. And Thursday she was a clingon . . . as in, clinging on to me every second of every minute of every hour of the entire day.

So I was a little nervous, a little unsure of how this weekend would go for Ron and the kiddos. I guess I underestimated them all. Because really, Ron's the best dad in the world . . . .

He bought junk food galore for the girls . . . Cookie Crisp cereal, licorice, waffle cones for ice cream . . . I think I have a stomach ache just thinking about it! They played games, ate food, hung out in pj's . . . had a general, all-around wonderful weekend. And Katie? She just joined right in. Never fussed, played along, loved hanging out with her Daddy! :)

I came home to a clean home, children freshly bathed, and hugs and kisses galore. It was great!!!

When I walked in the door Katie just stared at me for a moment, and then looked at me like, "Wow - you really did come back." Then the kissing started and didn't really stop for about an hour. Good times. I'm thankful that Katie can survive without me for a day or so, and then not punish me for leaving . . . I wasn't sure what her reaction would be - but it was more of a non reaction than anything else! Again, God is good!

And so I don't get nasty emails for not including pictures in this blog post . . . here are a few from January to keep you satisfied . . .

Katie looking adorable in her dress from Auntie Gail:

Emily showing off her "pink fuzz ball" earrings . . . definitely her favorites:

Kelsey enjoying her ipod, courtesy Grandma & Grandpa:

Thank you Grandma

We got a little package in the mail yesterday . . . inside we found Katie's Easter dress.
Yea for shopping Grandma's! :) When all you have is Target and KMart within a 30 mile radius - you count on the shopping Grandma to find all the cute deals!
So, without further ado, here's cute Katie:

How about another look at the cutie (and I don't mean the dress!):

And my attempt at "artsy" photography:

And just so you don't think it's always smiles and cuteness and love and laughter around here . . . here's a picture from Christmas that I've been saving for just the right time:

Lately we've been seeing much more of the screaming face than the smiling face - but we're working on it! I have a friend who keeps saying that Katie has met her match in me. I'm not so sure these days. Most days (and nights) I think I might have just met my match in Katie!!!

Oh.my.goodness.

Do you all remember awhile back when I received the incredible good news of Katie Mei's Foster Mom - complete with a picture and an address? I wrote all about it here. It took some time, but we finally composed a letter and a list of questions for Katie's foster mom and sent it off in December. Included in the letter and questions were also several pictures of Katie so her foster mom could see just how cute she is and how she is thriving. We also included a self addressed stamped envelope to be returned to the gal in China who was doing the translation work, in case the foster mom could and would write back.

So, Monday night, late, I find this in my inbox:

In case you can't read that, it says:
A LETTER FROM KATIE MEI'S FOSTER GRANDMA!!!!!

That's right - Katie's Foster Mom wrote back - and what an amazing, sweet, informative, precious letter it is!

Here are just a few snippets from the letter:

"Xia Jiao has left me for a while. Honestly, I miss her and am gratified for her. It is a kind of good fortune that she can grow up in your family."

We think it is more than good fortune - God is so good to us and to Katie for bringing us together!

"ShangRao orphanage sent her to me when she was 4 days old. She slept in my room, in my bed. She likes to sleep in my arms, lay on her side and face to me, and she likes to hold something when she sleeps."

Oh my! To know such sweet, personal information! We know it's true - Katie loves to lay on her side and she holds on for dear life to her little blankie while she sleeps!

"I took her back to the orphanage when she was 9 months old. I had been there 3 times to visit her because I couldn't set my heart at rest. I also took some farm produce for her and asked a grandma who works in the orphanage take special care of her."

Such proof that Katie was so obviously loved, loved, loved! All those prayers that Katie would be loved, and held, and bonded with someone - God more than abundantly answered those prayers!

"I was afraid of she wouldn't adjust well at the orphanage. I probably give her too much. The director had blamed me about it because she had been a picky eater after she got back to the orphanage."

OK, this cracks us up! Not only was Katie loved, but she was very, very spoiled! In fact, the director of the orphanage had told us in China that Katie was very fussy and wanted to eat all the time and be held all the time. Now we know why! :)

Katie's "Grandma" closed her letter with this:

"I am very happy to see Jiao Jiao is so cute. If she won't forget me who have taken care of her send some pictures to me when you have time, I will be much appreciated!"

No need to worry about that. Neither Katie nor our entire family could ever forget about this very special woman who cared so diligently and lovingly for our Katie. She cared for her. She played with her. She slept with her. She spoiled her. She loved her.

God is good.

 

Yippee for Lisa!!!

Yesterday was a big day in China adoption land . . . it was referral day for many, many families! My good cyber-friend Lisa and her family FINALLY received the referral of their long-awaited daughter . . .
Adorable Eliana
OK, are those cheeks the cutest or what - and check out her smile - a happy baby, no less! :)
I couldn't be more excited for Lisa and her sweet family. I remember all too well the excitement and chaos of referral and now waiting for Travel Approval and finally leaving for China!
Would you join me in praying for Lisa, Nathan and their two boys . . . and also for sweet little Eliana. She still has about two more months to go in China without her forever family. Please pray that Eliana is safe and warm and loved and cared for and held and hugged and full and happy. Pray that God is preparing her little heart to leave her caregivers and that He would prepare her to bond with her new Mommy and Daddy. Please also pray that the Smith's would receive a very speedy TA and that God would make their path clear to China!
Thanks, friends and family, I know I can count on you to pray Eliana home just the same way you prayed our Katie home!

How we spent our New Year . . .

having fun, fun, fun!!! Grandpa got a new toy:

Let's just say, EVERYONE enjoyed this toy! Grandpa bought a new go-kart, borrowed a tractor, and made a track on his "back 40." The morning frost made the track a little muddy in the afternoon - but hey - isn't getting muddy part of go-karting?!

Grandpa built a small jump in the middle of the track, and this was, by far, Emily & Katie's very favorite part!

And what, exactly, was Katie's reaction to all of this?

Just so you know - that's her sign for "more." She signed it over, and over, and over, and over, and over . . . .

Two years ago today

Two years ago today marks a milestone in our journey to Katie . . .

You see, December 27th is our oldest daughter, Kelsey's birthday. In fact, today she turns 11. (That's a whole different post - trust me!) But two years ago today, on Kelsey's 9th birthday, a momentous decision was made.

Just days before Ron had announced he was ready for a third child. We committed to adoption and began a crazy few days of research in the midst of hosting a birthday party and Christmas. It was wild. And fun. And more than a little hectic. We looked at many different countries as options for adoption - in particular, Guatemala, Peru, Haiti and countries in Eastern Europe. We couldn't seem to make a decision. We were pretty confident which agency we would use, but the country where our child would come from just seemed elusive to us.

The day of Kelsey's actual birthday we decided to go to lunch as a family. Kelsey chose a recently open restaurant in a neighboring town, Panda Express. It's a fast-food type Chinese food restaurant and we were all looking forward to trying it out. On our 30 minute drive to lunch I made a call to All God's Children. We explained our situation and that we wanted to use them as our agency, but that we just weren't sure where exactly God was calling us to in terms of a country. The gal on the other end of the phone line was calm and patient (something I am not!) and walked me through what they call the Five Factors. I don't exactly remember what all of the factors were, but they were questions about our finances, our ability to travel to our child's birth country, the sex of the child we were hoping for, etc. As I finished all the questions the gal on the other end of the line is sweet gal said, "Well, that was clear. Your daughter must be waiting for you in China." Apparently we had answered every single question in a way that pointed directly towards China. Answering those questions seemed so cold and clinical for a moment and I just wasn't sure what I thought. But I hung up the phone, looked at Ron, and said, "Well, I guess we're going to China." And you know what he said? "Of course, China is where our daughter is. It's like I've known that all along." And that was that. China. Whew. Wow. Our girl is in China and we'll go there and bring her home.

It was such sweet relief in that moment to have made a decision and have direction. The agency was sending out our application packet and we would move forward. The excitement really began building.

We made it to Panda Express and sat down to eat. Ron prayed before we began and thanked God for the precious gift of Kelsey - given to us exactly 9 years earlier. He thanked God for Emily and for the sweet girl she was growing into. And then he thanked God for the new life He was creating in our family and asked Him to guide and direct and bless us on our new journey.

As we finished lunch we all opened up our obligatory fortune cookies. Now hear us clearly on this - we do not believe in fortunes or fate or luck. They are not real. God is real and He very clearly guides and directs and orchestrates and ordains. But that day, at that moment, God gave us a gift in that fortune cookie:

We all looked at each other in amazement for a moment and then began laughing and crying at the same time. God was good to us at that moment. Actually, He is good to us all the time. But at that very sweet moment it seemed as though He gave us a promise, a hope. I tucked that fortune into my wallet and have carried it there ever since. Some times during the long haul of paperwork or the very long wait we would take out that fortune and recount this story. We reminded ourselves of how God very clearly directed us to China and that He was making the way. The fortune reminded us that God is in the details, and that He would not leave one detail unattended to.

So two years ago today we started with the phone call and the prayer and the fortune. Today we have this:

God is good.