JTs Adoption

My Last Post on this Blog...

2010-05-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

Today is the one year anniversary of “Gotcha Day.” The above picture in the red coat was taken before we ever arrived in China. This is what JT looked like in the orphanage. The next picture is of J.T. and his friend Laila from China on the day of his baptism. See how grown up even hjis little face is! We will be celebrating this evening with Chinese food, ice cream and maybe a small gift. It will be a celebration of family. JT is a full fledged part of our family, he’s no longer “new,” so we will be blogging about him as well as the rest of the family on whatarethereedsupto.blogspot.com from now on. I try to blog once a month on there already. The picture of Devin & JT on the bed was taken just minutes after we recieved JT in China. It was the first "still" picture we took of him...
How far JT has come from the shy, frightened little boy that they led down the hotel hallway in Zhengzhou, exactly a year ago today. He didn’t understand, couldn’t communicate and was given to us, the giant weirdo Americans. We were so excited that day and I have to say it has exceeded our very highest expectations. He has proved to be strong and resilient, brighter than we had even hoped and incredibly well behaved. He just loves to have fun and giggle and play. He still loves school and I almost can’t remember what life was like without “T” as I call him. He can express not only his needs, but he can tell us what happened at school and how he feels about things. He tells me about his dreams and asks me questions about things constantly. (which I could do without while I’m trying to drive. J I love that he is so thirsty for knowledge. It’s so fun!

J.T. was well prepared for his first Easter and did great at finding eggs. He loved it.

On April 18th J.T. was baptized into our faith. We had him baptized by a signing pastor that came down from Holy Cross in Thornton Colorado. He does a service down here for the deaf once a month with a potluck following which doubled as a reception. JT really enjoyed it all.
Our anniversary and Devins birthday came and went and as with everything else, JT took it in stride and although he is not allowed to watch movies every single day anymore he is getting along much better with his brother and has started advocating for himself by asking “What are you talking about?” or “What is he saying?” if we forget to sign. He is doing so well in school that the teacher wants to try moving him up a grade for math class. I am looking forward to our second summer with JT. He was the perfect addition to our family and makes us all feel complete. Becoming J.T.s mother is definitely in the top 5 best things that have ever happened to me in my life. Thank you God! ....please follow our "family" blogsite whatarethereedsupto.blogspot.com to continue to see updates on all of us and thanks for sharing in our adoption story!

Quick Update

2010-03-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

JT learned how to tie his shoes today! He got new shoes and therefore it was time to learn to tie. He did a great job... takes him a while, but heck, he's a fast learner.

He is also reading simple sentences that I am writing with his sight words.

We are doing lots of talking about things these days. He will be baptized on April 18th and we talk about that kind of stuff a lot. He also talks about what he does at school and what he sees. We went to the library for the first time this week. He had been to his school library, but was very excited to go to the public libraray. It was a lot of fun. He likes to look at books.

He also figured out (on his own) how to blow a party favor with his nose. He made a leprachaun hat at school for St. Patricks Day and they read stories about leprachauns and made and ate green pudding.

Doing Phenomenally well!

2010-03-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

J.T. is involved in the Shared Reading Program and is enjoying that... his SRP representative is also his godmother. We will be having J.T. baptised on April 18th (barring bad weather... signing priest will come down from Thornton.) I have explained "baptism" to him in the literal sense... meaning that the priest will be pouring water on his head. I think that he believes I am completely insane. He and I pray together and He was so cute the other day... I asked him what he would like to pray for (I help him with the words) and he picks any 3 thingts that he would like. First he chose to pray that Mom would let him play the Wii (which is more hysterical than I can tell you.) So we did, then he prayed that his friends birthday party would be fun. I asked him for one more thing and he rubbed his imaginary goatee (as he does to let me know he's thinking) and when I prompted him with "Would you like to say 'thank you' for something?" He responded, "family." I guess that says it all. He can read about 60 sight words, he can count to one hundred on his own, and he has known his ABCs since last October. He is getting invited to birthday parties by kids from his school who aren't even in his class and got to go roller skating for the first time last Sunday. He enjoyed it, but it was hard for him. He also attended a wrestling tournament and saw a friend wrestle this past weekend. After the tournament we went to dinner with 2 other families and a total of 4 deaf boys. It has been great fun developing his life experiences and in turn... his language. We are all looking forward to warmer weather so we can get outside more. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Daddys 37th birthday by going out for Indian food (which JT) didn't seem to mind seeing as they had rice) and then to see Avatar in 3D. He enjoyed the movie and was very excited to be celebrating a birthday with his Dad. We also enjoyed a visit from one of the other families that we met in China. JT remembered them and we all had chinese food and visited and played. As you will see in the pictures, JT learned how to walk and lay 'round on on the ceiling. Watching his relationship with Michael you would think that his Dad had never left. He has a great time playing with his brother and looking forward to these family events. He enjoyed Valentines Day a great deal, and I can hardly wait for the fun we'll have on his first Easter coming up in a few weeks.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2009-12-15T16:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays one and all! I thought that I had updated this blog after Thanksgiving... but apparently I was wrong again. The day before Thanksgiving J.T. recieved his hearing aids. He can hear quite a bit of lower tones with them, but he doesn't know how to respond to sound so it's not doing us much good yet. We are working on getting him to turn and look when he hears something. Our holiday was lovely spent with friends. A friend of our family flew out for the holiday weekend and we spent Thanksgiving at my best friends house with her friends and family. JT found it to be fun and although we missed Michael deeply, we were rejoicing in the fact that we knew he would be home soon. ....AND HE WAS!

Michael arrived in Colorado Springs on December 2nd and we are having a smooth transition. J.T. is getting to know him and although he is not totally comfortable with his Dad yet, he is happy spending time with him. He just doesn't know what to expect from Michael yet. Michael is really enjoying J.T. and he makes Michael smile as much as he does the rest of us.

On December 3rd J.T. was in the school program and danced with his classmates to "Singing in the Rain." It was absolutely precious and we enjoyed the whole show. At Deaf Chat... the Santa at the mall walked up to J.T. and SIGNED "Merry Christmas, I love you." Of course I had to have pictures so J.T. and Devin sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. J.T. is very excited about Christmas. He did a great job of helping to decorate the tree.

One weekend recently we spent visiting with J.T.s Auntie and Cousin whom he adores. My nephew is great with kids and JT even asks for him when he's not been around for a while.

Here is a picture of JTs first snowman he made....

We have moved (sadly from Holy Apostles parish) to St. Marys Cathedral downtown. They not only have a weekly interpreted mass, but there are several deaf parishoners which of course makes J.T. not so isolated in his church family. We have chosen a god mother for him and are looking into his baptism soon

Christmas and new year were a blast. JT finally understands gifts and really enjoyed his and all the sweets and time spent messing around. We bought ourselves a Wii and he really likes playing with that all together as a family. His favorite is the sword fighting and he screams out loud while he is kicking butt. lol. It's his new favorite thing to do. (He is still a movie fanatic though.)

J.T.s new year started off well. He is excited to start back to school. He stayed up all night and watched the ball drop and blew his horn (which he blows more like a Kazoo with voice added.) He probably doesn't understand "new year" but he enjoyed the party just the same.

October Outta the Way!

2009-10-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

JT is starting to respond to people who sign to him in public. He is starting to experiment more with signs and fingerspelling. His teacher is amazed because he is able to use signs appropriately both receptively and expressively after being shown just once or twice. He still freaks out a little when the korean lady at Deaf chat smooches his cheeks... but he recovers pretty quickly.

He loves attending mass for the deaf once a month and we are switching parishes to attend St. Marys cathedral where the 8:45 mass is interpreted and there are other deaf parishoners. He knows he's deaf now and will readily remind me if I start singing in sign language. He even told Emma that she doesn't know how to cook because she is hearing and he knows because he is deaf. lol. This Deaf Pride thing has it's limits.

He already knows his entire alphabet and can count to 15. He recentely learned "cute," "tomorrow," "friends" and "better," and we have had the opportunity to teach "truth/honest" and "lie." That went exceptionally well and I felt blessed for the opportunity to present itself as it did. I attended his first Parent/Teacher conference and am thrilled to share that his report card was wonderful. We celebrated his excellent grades with an extra candy at dessert time.

Halloween was a wonderful experience, the weather was wonderful. JT was a red Power Ranger (picture) and we enjoyed a couple of parties as well as trick or treating and carving pumpkins. (picture) He carved his pumpkin with minimal help and I thought it was adorable. JT had a harvest party at school the day before as well.

JT. got to play in the snow in the backyard and it took about 10 seconds for him to figure out the concept of a snowball. :) He enjoyes the snow... but gets cold and needs to come warm up often. I'm not sure he was allowed to play in the little snow they had in China. He does like hot cocoa.

We are talking about Daddy coming home in a month and JT seems to understand. He replied to me the first time, "Daddy come home, tickle me." JT also attended a doctors appointment this month at a hearing specialist who cleared him for hearing aids. Hopefully we will be able to order them soon.

Adjusting well and learning tons!

2009-10-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

JT has learned so much since he started school, he almost knows the whole alphabet and can count to ten. He writes his first and last name and sight reads all the other students' names as well. He has adjusted well enough to know that he can protest the serving (and buying) of milk by trying to keep me out of the milk cooler at the grocery store. He puts catsup on his peas and soy sauce on his corn (ew.) He is learning abstract concepts such as "pretty" and today he signed "please" without being prompted appropriately. His teacher is blown away by how quickly he learns. His signing has a long way to go, but he can tell me what he did at school most days and he understands that Halloween is about dressing up (in his case as a power ranger.) He knows Daddy will come home in a couple more months and that Christmas is coming and he has learned who Santa is and has expressed a desire to go and see the man. He has seen his first snow since coming here and stood at the glass door signing snow and screaming with glee. He has grown well over an inch and is out of all the clothes I bought him when I brought him home. His hair got long enough that he was geling and blowdrying it trying to give himself a faux-hawk. (We got his hair cut.) He is able to talk about seeing the leaves change color because it is Fall. He also gets excited about things like my putting an old pair of SpongeBob sheets on his bed, or his first pair of "footie pajamas." He flexes his muscles for me often, lol. He is adjusting well enough that he is becoming more of a "normal" child... makes ya want to sit on him sometimes... but then he does stuff like this:

He is so definitely one of us. Everyone who meets him just loves him and we couldn't feel more blessed. I can hardly wait for his Daddy to come home and get to know him! He's a hoot and a half! WE LOVE JT!

More Firsts!!!

2009-09-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

I apologize for all the time that has passed since my last post. It's been so busy the last month. J.T. experienced his first day of school and his first camping trip since I last posted! School is going wonderful for him. The day before school started he got to go to his school and register which included seeing his teacher and classroom. The first day was Aug. 17th and he was so excited to go. He had never been to school before and loves to learn and to focus on school work, and try to please those teaching him. He was apprehensive when the bus came to get him, but I sent him off with a smile and at the end of the day he was already trying to tell me a story in sign language... he makes a lot of it up by drawing pictures in the air and it's hard to understand... but his teacher is wonderful and has informed me that he is "a sponge," "loves to learn," and can sight read the names of the other children in his class already. He has 5 other children in his class. He was very excited the second week of school when he got to paint for the first time. He attends a special school for deaf children.

This (Labor Day) weekend he went on his first camping trip. We took the trailer and my best friend and her children and went to Eleven Mile Reservoir for the weekend. JT got to kayak in a tandem with me and did a great job. He had so much fun doing that. We also hopped the fence into the Rocky Mountain National Forest and shot some arrows at Daddys target bag. JT has a hard time with the bow... but he tried and enjoyed being able to have a couple turns. He made a "J" and a "T" and brought it to show me while we were waiting our turns.

I'm also posting a couple pictures from "around the house" to include J.T. sharing Mr. Winstons bed with him and some silly pictures we took just for fun with "the good camera."

Where do cookies come from???

2009-08-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Things are moving along just as smooth as can be...

J.T. is still having many "firsts" and we recently baked our first cookies. We learned about different kinds of sugar, licked our first beater, and have savored the satisfaction of fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies made from scratch.

We have been having fun with sidewalk chalk, & learning games and puzzles. Recently JT found a new hat which looks just adorable as well.

Summer is almost over...

2009-07-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

We are planning a camping trip for Labor Day weekend with some friends and are praying that the weather is agreeable!

Other things J.T. has experienced this summer is visiting Garden of the Gods (above) and seeing the big rock formations... it is only a few miles from our house and we go fairly often when the weather is good.

We have also been to the zoo twice (we are members... gotta make it worth it!) Above: Emma (JTs sister,) a macaque and Emmas cousin, and (right:) JT. with a sleepy orangutan.

J.T. has started to learn to ride his bike. He is very slow on it as he has gone downhill and although he nodded that he understood the braking system.... he apparently didn't and after throwing his feet off the pedals several times going WAY too fast downhill he ended up feet over head in the bushes a couple times. I finally tied his shoes to the pedals and he is doing better. He still has training wheels, but it is fairly frustrating for us because he is so slow that if we were to travel at the same speed he does ~ we would fall over. So that is something we will continue to work on.

Turning SEVEN!

2009-07-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, J.T. turned 7 years old and we had a party for him as both a welcome home and a birthday. We prepared him by talking about it and he went shopping with me for most of the supplies. He was very excited! He did very well at the party and played with the children.... he seemed to really enjoy running around with our friend Derek. He didn't understand the birthday song but stood their waiting just the same. We did the re-lighting candles... which I won't ever do again because about 10 kids wanted to help him blow them out when they re-lit which meant there were 10 children "blowing" on the cake.... good thing I had cupcakes in a box still, for the germ-a-phobes. lol. When it was time to open presents J.T. didn't know what to do. He sat there with the first gift on his lap and we were finally able to explain to him how to open it. He told me he liked the party and he had TONS of fun playing with all the generous gifts. He drove the cat and dogs nuts with the remote control car and giggled uncontrollably. He sleeps with the big plastic Ultraman that his father and I got from China. Speaking of his father... Michael was able to join us for a short time on Skype and enjoyed being able to see everyone until the storm knocked the power out. I hope everyone who attended had a good time... J.T. did and although I didn't take many "still" pictures (I really have to work on that) I did take a few plus some video.

super busy!

2009-07-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

JT has lost the other 3 teeth since my last blog, (photo below from today.) He is still doing well and has learned all of his colors (still struggling with pink a bit) and is still doing exceptionally well. I am so looking forward to school at this point because I know that I will see him blossom. He has attended get togethers FULL of deaf adults already and it's facinating to watch him watch them. You can almost see him learning about ASL facial expressions and although he is still incredibly shy, he seems much happier even when we are some where with lots of people.

He has met one set of his grandparents and really liked having lunch with them. (Thanks again guys!)

He enjoys playing with other kids and is pretty comfortable meeting new children. He loves spaghetti. (naturally... it's noodles.) One night he ate and ate until he finally threw-up a little. He came out of the bathroom, sat back down at the table, and with a smile... informed me that he was full. I laughed out loud and told him that I thought he was absolutely right. The next time we had spaghetti he had seconds... but wasn't nearly as overlyenthusiastic as he had been the first time around.

I'll try to blog again soon and not wait so long. We have been busy with court validation paperwork, social security paperwork etc, school registration paperwork and staying busy in general. he is a sweet boy who tries to make the right choices, he enjoys learning and loves to dress up as super heros, watch movies with his brother or have water fights in the backyard. His laughter can be heard from anywhere in the house and we cherish every moment of it. We are so blessed to have him in our family... I can hardly wait til "the dad" comes home and can enjoy him with us. (please keep michael in your prayers.)

JT lost a tooth. :)

2009-06-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

Not much is new. JT is getting to know at least 2 of his Aunties and cousins. Today he lost a tooth. He had 4 loose teeth and finally it got loose enough that I told him to pull it out and so he did. I hope the tooth fairy comes tonight. :) His smile is still beautiful!

Things I've learned about who JT is...

2009-06-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

JT likes the color red, turtles, ice cream, noodles, pizza, Kung Fu, bubbles, balloons, cars, Spiderman, Optimus Prime, Spongebob, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turutles and Ultraman. He also enjoys Tom & Jerry and The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote (all action... no dialogue.) He watches Power Rangers and likes to look at books with lots of pictures. He is a back-seat driver and thinks I should drive more like they do in China. It seems he doesn't know that he is deaf. He is fun loving and playful. Although he is VERY shy in public with strangers... once you have played with him, and he gets comfortable with you, you realize that he is not a helpless, frightened little thing. He is incredibly strong. He is also bright and tries to understand, & he is learning faster than we expected. JTs favorite game is probably Hide & Seek... but remember when playing this with a deaf child you HAVE to find them. They can't hear you when you call them to come out of their hiding place... God help you if they fall asleep. Although on the other hand, they are not very stealthy... they forget we can hear them. He likes to win... and in his world he always does. This week he went to his first baseball game (Go SkySox!) and seemed pretty bored, but loved the hotdogs & ice cream. (The food topic is a learning experience everyday.) He likes hotdogs, soup and pizza. He also went to the zoo and loved it. He rode the carousel and a pony for the first time... so much fun! Had his first "Slurpee" too. He plays dress-up with the collection of costume Devin has acrued... that's a riot. Today he had on a Davy Crocket cap with the zoro costume. lol. Devin and he are starting to play much better together as well. JT has been our child for a month as of yesterday and it has been a glorious month. He is going to start meeting his extended family tomorrow and we're planning his birthday party for next month. I hope everyone reading this recieved the announcements in the mail. I'll continue to post if people are still interested. :) Please remember to keep Michael in your prayers... it's been hard for him to be missing all of this. He is an amazing father as you all know and it's an incredible sacrifice he is making. It hurts him everyday so please remember him in your prayers. Thanks, Love you all!

Another Week come and gone...

2009-05-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Another week has come and gone and JT is still doing beautifully. Everytime he smiles it warms my heart. He is not "in awe" of everything, but you can see his little mind working and it's such a joy to see him learning. He is a really happy kid. The rain finally stopped this week and we spent several days at the park playing, working on learning to ride a bike, and looking at the geese. (We hit 3 different parks this week.) We also went to Manitou Springs and played, enjoyed the archade with ski-ball, air hockey, and first video game experience.... (holding off on those at home,) and had some treats. JT is such a sweetheart. He pets the dogs and cat. We're working on it to see if I'm right. He has a great

sense of humor, and just loves to have fun. He's working on learning his colors and numbers and alphabet. He did great at the dentist and the doctor and will have blood tests run after the first week of June. His audiology appointment was difficult and they want to do a sedated ABR. I'm waiting for a call back. Hope you enjoy these pictures, we're taking him to a baseball game today, so i hope to have more to post soon. :)

Everyday something new...

2009-05-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

JT's experiencing new things everyday and seems to be taking it all in stride. I think we are going to start introducing him to his extended family a little at a time and I am looking forward to it. This Sunday he experienced church for the first time. A very sweet friend made a scrapbook of pictures of JT from the blog and he enjoyed looking at them at church and I think that really broke the tension when we went in and sat down, Thanks Jan! You're a doll! Saturday we went to a street fair that was a little overwelming for JT, but he had a few really choice moments... he tried cotton candy for the first time (liked it.) and he got a marshmellow shooter which was a lot of fun until he ate all the amunition. We also had chinese food a couple times this week and he seemed really enthusiastic about it. He experienced the ice cream truck, sidewalk chalk (I wish I knew what some of the chinese writing out in front of my house meant,) He wrote prices in Yuan (chinese money,) for what, I do not know. He had his portraits done on Saturday and they turned out adorable!!! We celebrated with his first trip to Dairy Queen and he learned how to eat a waffle bowl. JT has been stuck in the house for several days due to rain so at one point we went to Walmart where we found a Spiderman costume that he HAD to have. He made his first Build-a-Bear (a turtle, that he picked) and we got some other fun stuff: puzzles, playdough, and a viewmaster (to replace a lost one since we have many cartridges.) JT took a bubble bath a couple days and was hysterical once when he got out and Michaels dog jumped in. He thought that was the funniest thing he had ever seen. He's gotten very comfortable around our dogs compared to how he was when he got here, but not as comfortable as we are. He is still terrified around other peoples dogs... and that's ok with me for now. Devin is still frustrated with the lack of communication and I am signing to him more and more. He's in a routine and we still haven't had many "troublesome" times. He is helpful and seems happy although easily bored. I'll keep you posted how this week goes as soon as I can. Tomorrow is JTs first doctors appt.

Coming along nicely... so far.

2009-05-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

JT has had a hard time with the rain making it hard to play outside and with Devin and mom being sick, we can't go do anything. He has a lot of energy and needs things to do, sitting still for long periods is not an option. He has been drawing pictures, watching movies and doing (16-20 piece) puzzles. We occasionally run a few errands. His first doctors appointment is next Tuesday. He toured his future school yesterday and was pretty nervous about it since he has never been to school we think he saw it as another orphanage, he was very happy to say good-bye to the staff when we left. When the rain stopped for a while he practiced some of his Kung-Fu moves on the trampoline. He misses Daddy and talks to him on the computer sometimes in the evening. He is getting into the routine of bedtime at 9, breakfast first thing in the morning and not eating noodles everyday. He is still a big fan of ice cream and we actually went to the store and bought some cones. He is getting more and more used to the animals and will pet them all now and is ALMOST used to Scout jumping on him. He got an "It's A Boy!" balloon at the grocery store and that has been the source of entertainment... it lasted almost 24 hours. lol. He likes nuts a lot, and looking at the beginning of the "adoption scrapbook." He also got a new bicycle and I think he will need training wheels... I forgot you can't yell and tell a deaf child what to do while they are trying to ride away from you. lol.

Getting to know each other...

2009-05-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

JT is getting to know us more and more each day. He is still a little hesitant around my dog, Winston, but likes him, plays with him (throwing the ball) and touches him now. He is still quite anxious around Michaels dog. Daddy put the trampoline together and a new playset for the boys in the backyard before he left back to Iraq yesterday. We are focusing on building a trusting, child/parent/sibling relationship and getting to know eachother. JT mimicks signs that we show him and later it is amazing to us how much he retains. He knows well over 50 signs and we only recieved him 2 weeks ago today... he came to us with NO signs. He tries to communicate with us and although I know there are issues ahead that will need to be dealt with, he is so cute and so much fun to teach. It's such a joy to teach a child who is so enthusiastic about learning. He hates macaroni & cheese, mustard and bbq sauce. He likes Ranch dressing, kastup, and sweedish meatballs. He likes white grape juice, potatos, Ralston hot cereal and fresh fruit. He also really likes raw carrots. Seeing the joy on his face as he experiences all the new things in his life makes me so grateful to God for everything. JT is a miracle, and I am overjoyed that God chose to bless our family by brining us together. Devin is pretty sick with the flu or something and it's been hard to have so much to deal with at once. Please pray for his quick recovery and Michaels safety. Talk to you again in a few days....

Finally Home!

2009-05-15T22:06:00.001-07:00

We traveled for 29 hours straight and finally arrived at our home around 9:30 pm on Thursday evening. JT had a hard time with some of the flight and was quite grumpy at times, but for the most part we were all impressed with everything he has been through. It was a long haul, but checking out his new house JT was smiling. He is terrified of the dogs and cat still and we have to keep them out of the house or he is very uncomfortable. We spent much of the first day buying him clothes and things he needed that we didn't buy before because we were unsure of his size and then couldn't find in China. So overall it has been wonderful, we even went out to dinner with Charlotte and her boyfriend, Chris. The people at TGIFridays thought it was pretty funny to watch the boy eat french fries with chopsticks. In these pictures we see JT taking his first steps on American soil, his ride in the car home from the airport in Denver and a picture of him and Daddy having lunch together at Chick-fil-a in the mall. Never once did he seem overwhelmed or even grouchy today. What a tough little guy. Daddy leaves on Sunday, but with the webcam we are hoping that he can handle that as well.

The Last Day in China

2009-05-13T07:24:00.000-07:00

Our last day in China we took the oath and got JTs visa at the consulate. Everything went smoothly, praise God, and we are are starting our journey home at 6:40 am tomorrow. We will be traveling for close to 24 hours straight with our new little guy. We found a couple of small Ultraman figures... plastic, but hopefully they will entertain him on the flight. He was very happy to pose for this picture with them. We will think back fondly on our trip to China when we first met our little Jing Tao, but we are so looking forward to hearing that pilot say, "Welcome to Denver." We have missed our daughters and our home very much. It has been hot and humid everyday here. We are excited to see JT experience his new home for the first time. We ask that those of you with faith... pray that the transition is as easy as possible for him. Michael will be leaving back to Iraq almost immediately and because of JTs unique situation there will be many challenges in the coming days, weeks and months. So it is with great happiness that I will blog as soon as I arrive home, but this will be the last for a day or two. Thanks for sharing our journey during this incredibly special time when we saw true miracles happen. We hope to keep you posted over the beginning of JTs new life in the United States as well. Talk to you next in the Great U.S. of A. :)

Nanas Birthday in China

2009-05-12T04:40:00.001-07:00

We ended the day yesterday with some Tom & Jerry videos. There is no dialogue so JT can understand what's going on and he laughs out loud... it's so cute, and as you can see he is very comfortable with Devin. We have been teaching him how to hug. He doesn't understand it and it interferes with whatever he would rather be doing... but when we all hugged eachother today, Devin got the biggest hug from JT. We thought of Nana today because it is her birthday... at least it is, here in China! We went to the pearl market which is a huge shopping mall with tiny stores in nooks and crannys. I still didn't find what I was looking for, but it was fun looking. JT had another good day today. Michael tried to hold his hand in the mall and he assured Michael it was ok because he was holding Devins hand. Tomorrow is our last day in China, we will be taking the oath at the US consulate. Our visa paperwork was done there today. JT is a big fan of Ultraman. I guess they remade a show from the 1960s in Japan and he loves it. I have never seen it before and currently can only find "collectibles" online. He is quite popular with Chinese boys and there are many toys at the stores in town... but most of them are cheaply made and I wish I could find something that will last him like a stuffed doll or a costume that I could bring home so he doesn't have to leave something he loves in China and not have it aviailable to him in his new home in the U.S. The pictures near the water were taken in the middle of our hotel (The White Swan) today. We had Subway for lunch. JT informed me that his sandwich was too big.

2009-05-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Here you can see many adoptive families on the dinner cruise with us... below are my boys!

Today we started out at the medical clinic. The children had their check-ups they needed for their visas. We were the only Hague family in the bunch so he had to get 3 shots. He handled it like a trooper. After that Michael stayed with the boys while I went to work on the immigration paperwork. A while later we took a short walk to have lunch at Lucys (mostly American food.) and a little shopping around on the way back where I bought the boys traditional hats. We spent some time in the hotel resting with the air conditioning on. Tonight we did the boat (dinner cruise) on the Pearl River. The food was different. I tried octopus.... chewy. After we ate we went up on top of the boat and looked at the lights of the city in the cool breeze. It was a very nice ride and definitely worth the 128 yuan per person (roughly $20.00 each) There were many families who had recently adopted from China and it was fun talking to many of them. I even met a sign language interpreter named Danielle from Idaho. JT at Lucys & being a chinese kid....

Here on the lower left I enjoyed watching JT pull the eyes out of a deep fried (whole) fish.... they were anchovies or sardines or something.... not bad... but he says it was gross because it had eyes. He finally gave up. I guess he doesn't like being stared at by his food. It was pretty funny, I thought it was more gross watching him attempt to dismantle his food than it was to actually eat the whole fish. On the red table cloth are pieces of the fish. :) LOL

Mothers Day

2009-05-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

JT started the day by "reading" the paper, Michael told him he was going to get along great with Grandpa Tom. lol. Then we toured one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the Guangdong province. Then we went to the Chen House... one of the oldest families in this part of China. The house became an academy for students who came for testing and is now used as a museum. There were exhibits of ivory and bone carving, porcelain, embroidery, jade carvings and many other art forms at this time and they were all stunning. It was very hot though. This part of China is known for their porcelain, jade and embroidery. Devin took pictures with a large group of his Chinese groupies, and it grew after this picture! After that we did a little more shopping, ran around the little hotel room giggling, took the traditional "red couch" photos and had dinner with the other families. During dinner he decided to try chopsticks AND a fork at the same time... the whole Chinese/American thing. Didn't quite work out "easier." On the way home we stopped at a place that had Chinese musical instruments for children and the old couple that ran the shop let JT and Devin try them... so of course we bought them each one and they had a great time driving us nuts with them. When it was all said and done I gave JT a bubble bath and he thought that was great fun. He is really enjoying his baths now... we put bubbles on his chin like an old man and had him look in the mirror... very funny stuff.

2009-05-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

The flight to Guangzhou was fairly uneventful. JT was still unsure about the flight but when he saw the planes at the airport and it was time for us to board, he was pulling me down the ramp to the plane as fast as he could. He had a bit of a problem keeping his seat belt buckled, but seemed to enjoy flying and ate all his lunch eagerly. We were exhausted by the time we arrived here and met our guide. We unpacked, looked around, did a little shopping and had dinner. It is very touristy here and a large percentage of the tourist population are adopting parents. The stores cater to the adoptive families. We will enjoy this place much more than the last even though the weather is incredibly hot and muggy. The rooms are cooler and appear to have less mosquitos, (they are much smaller) but there is more to do outside the room and we will be having a tour or two tomorrow. I want to say Happy Mothers Day to my mom and thank you to her for being so supportive of JT in this adoption. The difference that I will make in his life is largely due to her encouragement of my love for sign language. I love you Mom, happy Mothers Day and Thank you for everything. This picture is of JT and Mike running down the sidewalk... JT thought they should be in front of me.

Last Day in Zhengzhou...JTs "hometown"

2009-05-08T07:09:00.001-07:00

Not much happened today aside from another trip to the pool and watching Kung Fu Panda, Mulan and Around the World in 80 Days. We were waiting to recieve JTs passport (and we did) and gearing up for a trip out of here. Zhengzhou is not an exciting place, there are mosquitos and humid heat and Devin has had a heat rash for days. We are all looking forward to our trip to Guangzhou tomorrow. Guangzhou is the last stop for ALL families who adopt from China. We have our consulate appointment on Tuesday to get his visa to enter the US (that is the big one) he will also visit the doctor (and doesn't know he needs shots.) We will be "sworn in" by US immigration and all that jazz as well. In the meantime... JT is VERY neat. Mike and Devin both joke about him having OCD. He takes his socks off and puts them in his shoes. He sees trash and throws it away. He puts one toy away before taking out another. It is almost amusing to us since we have never seen a child behave this way. Gotta love it. On another note... a few days ago JT pointed to an airplane in the sky and I told him that he would fly in the airplane with us soon. He informed me in his jibberish that he would not fly because airplanes crash. So needless to say tomorrow should be quite the adventure. I'll have to let you all know how it goes. We have tried to talk to him about it several times this week to prepare him and he shakes his head and goes into a long lecture, clearly stating that it is not safe. Devin asked if we could drug him... of course I said no. lol :) So ends the second leg of our trip... one more city to spend almost a week in. Hopefully I'll have more interesting stories tomorrow and news that the flight was uneventful.

More "Down Time" to Bond...

2009-05-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

Today we went upstairs to the play room which was mostly for babies, but the kids didn't mind for a few minutes. Then we walked down to the park and got an ice cream, then we walked way down the other way to a "mall" type of area and looked around. We had our lunch at KFC. JT seemed to like it and they have wraps called Dragon rolls with fried chicken, cucumbers and an asian sweet and spicy sauce. It was really yummy. I have been more adventurous with trying food than Michael and Devin are. I have eaten goose heart and chicken feet. Mike sent the guy with the beef tongue away before I could get any. We gave JT a Denver Broncos ball cap today and he likes it alot. He wears it sideways, backwards, frontwards and sometimes carries it around. He also feels very cool in his sunglasses, and new outfit. It was very warm today. The only adoption stuff was to check the paperwork from the notary to make sure it was correct... and it was. We picked up our laundry which had been quite the fiasco as well and are happy to have it back. We now understand why people pay so much money to do it in the hotel. Oh, and J.T. wrote his name on the magnadoodle today all by himeself. "J.T." Cute & smart... how lucky can I be?

A Day to Ourselves

2009-05-06T05:45:00.001-07:00

Today we walked to a department store and had lunch at McDonalds where the boys played on the indoor playground. While we were there we met some Chinese deaf people and tried to communicate. They spoke Chinese Sign Language and wrote in mandarine and pin-yen. We were able to share signs for Mother, Father, Brother, Hello, Panda and Tiger. It was a lot of fun. After that we came back and decided to try swimming. J.T. had shown fear of the pool a couple of days earlier, but I thought it might be different if he saw Devin in the pool. I was right, he laughed at devin as he got ready and got in the pool. He got in the pool without protest. Unfortunately he doesn't understand the physical aspects of water and swimming and holding your breath. He did choke and sputter a few times and actually jumped in to Mike and then jumped in on his own and Mike had to jump in after him. Hopefully that was a learning experience, but he seemed to have a good time. The boys also spent quite a bit of time rolling around wrestling and giggling. J.T. likes to play hide and seek... fortunately for us he doesn't realize we can hear him so we just follow the giggling.

More photos from today...

2009-05-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

The Adoption is FINAL!

2009-05-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the registration office and to the notary... after which the adoption was officially final. He is ours to love forever. He did much better today. He smiled in public, even waved at a man who waved at him (when I told him to) and when the lady from the orphanage that had dropped him off tried to play with him he grabbed Michaels hand and squeezed. We, therefore, decided that we did not want to visit the orphanage. We had an ice cream on the way back to the hotel to celebrate and he seemed to really enjoy it. Later in the afternoon we went to the Lotus Shopping Center. It was quite an adventure. It seems that the people there all think I speak mandarin. I try to tell them that I speak only English... but they don't believe me and they just keep speaking mandarin. I laugh and say, "I still don't speak mandarin" and they just keep going. I finally gave up. I managed to buy some things I needed but didn't really want but didn't have an option for. J.T. is doing better today. His milestone today was that he had his first McDonalds and he really likes french fries. He picked out a toy car at the store and is very into playing with it. He hides it under his pillow. We also played with bubbles, they were a pretty big hit! We had a good day over all. I wish I could upload all the cute pictures I took. Rejoice in the miracle you can see in these.

2009-05-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

J.T. is having some issues when we leave the room and go out in public. He is shy and embarrassed and reverts to how he was when they first brought him to us. He acts very much like a severely autistic child when we are in public. The reason I am posting about this is because we have such a big family and so many of our family friends are expressing that they can't wait to meet him but I think it will be a while before he will be ready. I just don't want anyone to take it personally. I'll keep you posted (no pun intended) Thanks for understanding. :) ...and keep him in your prayers.

It's a Boy!

2009-05-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

After breakfast we waited in the hallway for our new son to arrive. He appeared with the orphanage director and an officer from the orphanage and led J.T. down the hall to us. My heart was pounding and I couldn't hold back my tears. Michael was video taping. He had with him the bracelet, car and pictures that Ihad sent. He wouldn't make eye contact and looked absolutely terrified. My heart was breaking for him as the orphanage people pointed to the pictures and to me. We brought him into the room and took a picture, Emma was on the computer web cam. He just sat for a few minutes trying to block us out. Finally I gave him a sucker and picked up a toy and put it near him. He made his car hit it and I made the toy "fall over dead." I saw a small smile. Within minutes we had him smiling and relaxing. I know that doesn't mean I'm out of the woods, but it has become a much better experience than I had ever imagined. Now, almost 8 hours later and a trip to the photo shop and lunch, he is laughing out loud, playing with us and trying to sign. He is smart and has a good sense of humor. He plays well with Devin and likes the toy cars. I'll post more if and when I can... but since I knew you all were waiting... above is the first picture we took of him moments after he entered our hotel room and here is a recent picture I took in the hotel this afternoon, one of the sweetest smiles I've ever seen....

Zhengzhou

2009-05-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

Not much has happened since this afternoon since I blogged last. Had dinner at the hotel restraunt... it was very nice. Went swimming with Devin and chatted with a couple other of the families. Now we are tired and anxious for tomorrow Michael did not upload the camera pictures from today, not that there were many of them, so we don't have anything of interest to post... but tomorrow should be a biggie. :) Thanks for the prayers y'all. :) stay tuned...

2009-05-02T23:01:00.000-07:00

After a short flight from Beijing to Zhengzhou, we arrived at the Crown Plaza hotel. The hotel is very pretty. Poverty is far more evident here. It smells different. We were told on the ride from the airport with out new guide that we will receive our son tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. here at the hotel. I'll try to blog more later. Our new guide told us that she has recently seen our children and that J.T. is quiet and just sits quietly and that he does not smile. I am so excited to see if Devin can change that. :) She also said that she thinks he will understand what is happening tomorrow because of other adoptions... we will see. Keep us all in your prayers. We will continue to post daily when possible... more if necessary. :)...

our last day in beijing

2009-05-02T06:19:00.001-07:00

Today we spent at the Jade Factory, The Great Wall of China, Lunch, a colonaise factory, The Birds Nest and an acrobatic show. It was interesting and fun. The Jade factory was something we had been looking forward to and found that Jade is stronger than steel. It comes in many colors and different colors are mined in different areas. Then we went to the Great Wall of China. It was awesome to stand on something being built around the time of Jesus' birth. It was very crowded! After that we went to lunch where Devin was offered several yuan (Chinese dollars) to lick the inside of a fish head... so of course he did. We toured a colonaise (fired enamel inlay "factory:) took pictures at the Birds Nest (where the Olympic games were held last year) and then went and
saw an acrobatic show. It was all interesting and great fun.
I finally used my first squatty potty too. :)

2009-05-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today was busy and wonderful. We had a wonderful breakfast buffet at the Holiday Inn here in Beijing. Then it was off to Tiennenman Square and the Forbidden City. It was a holiday here, a kind of Labor Day if you will and the places were so full of people it was just amazing, it really gave you a sense of just how many people are in this country. The architecture and art work is incredibly beautiful we each took almost 300 pictures. We saw children wearing the split pants and thought it was just so cute. There are 10 of us in the group and one of the other couples is from Aurora, Colorado. The funniest part of the afternoon was that all the Chinese people are amazed with Devin and his blonde hair and blue eyes. They would shyly ask if they could take a picture with him and he posed and they were so happy! He must have taken 25-50 pictures. One little boy about his age waved at him as he went off with his mother and yelled back to Devin, " I Ruv You!" The people are, for the most part, very friendly, I like them very much. An old man walked up and petted Devins hair. He smiled at me and said that he is famous. I'm lucky he is not shy. After those two places we went to lunch at another hotel and had chinese food. The vegetables here are the best I've ever tasted. Then we went to the silk factory and saw how they get the silk from the silk worms. It was really cool. Michael and Devin both ate a silk worm pupa and said it tasted like a walnut. From there we went to the HuTong area and rode in a rickshaw. I seriously thought we might die. The traffic here is like nothing I have ever seen before... not even in movies. It's amazing that so many people survive it. It was fun and we had a tour by a separate guide there that took us into a private residence of a traditional family. It was very interesting to see and made me a little ashamed that I have so much that I don't need. We are exhausted and had dinner at a pizza place. After refueling we went to a supermarket and bought some snack items. It was a lot of fun seeing the different things and the things that are the same. We have one more busy day here tomorrow and I can hardly wait. I am so happy that we are able to do the things that we are doing and everything has been relatively inexpensive. I feel so deeply blessed for this opportunity! :) Thanks for letting me share!

2009-04-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Beijing last night after a long layover and a 2.5 hour delay. We had breakfast and are about to leave to tour the Forbidden City and Tiennamen Square. We plan to post tonight. we are very tired, but happy and excited. we have met some other people adopting and so far everyone has been just wonderful. It's just wonderful to be here and to see the cultural differences. we tried some interesting eggs and things with breakfast and everything was pretty good. Stay tuned.... :)

2009-04-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

I am very nervous, yet very excited. We leave in a matter of hours! We arrive in China the evening of the 30th. Where we will be is 14 hours ahead of our home (13 from you Californians.) We will be recieving J.T. on May 4th and the adoption is final on May 5th. We will be attending our last appointment for J.T.s visa on May 12th and we will get home the night of the 14th. Please stay tuned and we'll share as much as we can! Thank you for joining our trip and praise be to God! .....Dani

2009-04-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it is finally time, we are goign to China. We leave Wednesday April 29th at 6:06 am. Stay tuned for our story, pictures and share in the joy of the end of the adoption journey and the beginning of the next chapter in J.T.s life. Talk at you soon! ....Dani

2008-11-15T09:49:00.001-08:00

Friends in Need

2008-11-10T10:24:00.001-08:00

Please remember J.T. He was abandoned at age 2 and has been in an institution for 4 years. J.T. is profoundly deaf and has been taught NO mode of communication. He cannot speak, read, or write and as been taught no sign language at all, he has no way to express himself. We are desperate for help. We have both been laid off from our jobs after being in the adoption process for a year. My husband has moved to Iraq to help earn the money to bring J.T. home. We know that since God has called us to this purpose, he will make a way, and we don't know what his plan is, but we are hoping that he will open the hearts of all who see this and that they might send a small donation to help with the $10,000.00 we still need to raise for our trip to China and the fees to adopt J.T. when we are there. Our paperwork is finished and we are expected to have the money and travel between Feb & April 2009... within 4 months. If you have a compassionate heart and are willing to share a miracle, you could send a check or money order made out to J.T.s Adoption Fund and sent to:

J.T.s Adoption
P.O. Box 62782
Colorado Springs, CO 80962

Please, if you can even send $5.00 (the cost of a fast food value meal or even what you would spend on a cup of coffee) I will be absolutely thrilled... every donation is an absolute blessing. Thank you and praise God.