Saturday, September 29, 2007

Wow 5 whole days and one early early morning

And then we start heavy labor for our son Carlow Guan Qi Zhi. I guess this is how a mother who schedules a C-section feels knowing the exact date and time your child will be born to your family. Okay I am trying not to cry but the flood gates are open.
I also wanted to explain the YouTube on the top of our page Saturday Katie was running through the house singing. And I was catching bits and pieces it took me a while to realise my daughters are running through the house praising god jumping with joy and raising their little hands worshiping God. So that in turn made me humble in realising how I have to start praising God more lifting up my heart and children to God. Thank you God for such wonderful children that you have allowed us to raise to love and serve you!
I am so excited to watch our children grow and learn to love God more and more.What an amazing blessing God has allowed us to partake in!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

One week

Okay everyone keeps asking are you packed YET?
Well every time I try I get help... as in Mommy we want to pack our panties for China! Why don't they ask to pack dresses, shorts or tops? No my girls ask to pack panties. I still don't know if I have everything packed right, I have split our clothes between two suit cases just in case one bag is late.
I feel like my brain is mush today like completing a thought or sentence is just difficult. Listening today was hard because that meant I had to stop thinking about what is or is not in the suit cases, carry on or diaper bag and actually listen to someone else.I am hoping that I don't forget anything important.
In one week we will all be on a flight heading to China, yes it's going to be long and I can't sleep the entire trip like I did the first time. As a matter of fact sleep is something I catch in cat type naps, at home as well as traveling on a plane. Packing snacks goodness knows my girls can't live with out jelly straws (something we found at the Chinese grocery) and Seaweed (same as afore mentioned store) They would also like cheesy anything and Katie wants peanut crackers that she can lick the peanut butter from and give daddy the empty cracker with a HUGE smile. Did you remember that she is our prankster?
Cordie will be the one who eats what ever treat up so fast it will make your head spin and then all your going to hear is how unfair it is that Katie still has some.
LOL well hugs and love to you all I am going to go game and maybe sleep...perchance to dream..... of my 3 kiddos playing together, and you all know what the reality will be. Some nice playing and then he has my, she took that from me, WAAAAA, then the mommy gets to kick in. Play fair, don't hit, do not bite, Did your sister/brother have it first? Who left the crayons out so the dog could eat them? Freeze here and I want to share that I am now renaming the dog, to all who hear this she is Rainbow Poop because of the afore mentioned crayon eating.
Well now I'm heading to check out other blogs and play pogo.
Night all

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Anyway, we always hear of the "surprise" or "oops" pregnancies.
Imagine an "oops, I guess we're adopting again!" Here's how it would go:

Honey, sit down. I have some news for you.
What is it?

Well, I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come out with it. I went to the mailbox today and... well, we got a 171-H.
A what?!? A 171-H? As in, we're going to have a(nother) baby?!?

It looks that way.
But how? We've been so careful! I put away all the blank I-600A forms. Didn't you hide our homestudy update?

Of course I did, but don't forget, there was that one night..
What night? (pauses) Ohhh, that night, But it was only once. We were just messing around. I didn't print clearly. I didn't even use ink! (pauses again) But it was kind of fun. (giggles).
It was, wasn't it?

I'll never forget how cute you looked getting your fingerprints.
So now we've got our 171-H, eh? But that doesn't always mean we'll adopt, does it? I mean, shouldn't you see the agency or something, make sure everything's okay?

I already did.
And?

I'm five documents along.
Five documents! And they're all okay... notarized, certified and authenticated correctly?

Just great. There was one small scare when the agency couldn't see the Notary's middle initial but it showed up just fine under the magnifying glass. Thankfully.
And you, honey? Are you feeling okay?

I'm feeling fine. As long as I know you're happy about this.
Happy? I'm thrilled! It's always a shock at first when something like this happens, but of course I'm happy.

Author Unknown

Fun Sunday

Friday, September 21, 2007

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

, Two weeks, 14 Days, 320 hours,or 19,200 minutes But who is counting???

What is time really?
  • Something that flies by while you miss the simple things you should be enjoying.
  • Both your friend and your enemy.
  • Blink and it's gone.
  • Time seems to fly by only after you have children in your life.
  • Do not allow time you missed with your special people to be your biggest regret when your "older"
  • Do take take time to listen to your child's stories, and listen close because there really might be a moral to the story.
  • Don't be afraid to act like a kid sometimes it makes life much more fun.
  • Time is not a prison sentence unless you make it one.
  • Learn from life the first time so you don't have to continue repeating painful segments.
  • Always, Always Love God, your partner and your Children to the fullest life and time can not be rewound like a DVR it's normally fast forward mode only.

So that's my philosophical side tonight take it with a grain of salt and know that right now I still have to finish packing (no really I have to pack or um repack )

I really don't feel like we are traveling in 2 weeks, it still feels so far away, like some unobtainable dream. Someday I will only remember how fast time flew by an dhow much joy we had waiting to share our lives with Carlow. Some day I won't remember the labor pains just the beautiful child in my arms possibly with his sisters mischievous personality. I am laying bets on the mischievous part LOL.

Well I am going to close this before I completely lose the train of thought for this post.

God Bless

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Conversation with Katie tonight

Okay what you have to remember about my little Katie-bug is that she is an antagonist and a huge tease.
And Uncle Steve if you are reading this I hope that you can get a HUGE laugh from it. God Help us when the two of you are together!!!!!
I have started telling Katie that her name Gan Bo Rou must translate to Paul Steven Harlow!
Because she is the biggest tease I have met she will bait her sister into a frenzy and laugh till she falls in the floor. She will tell her sister I'm not talking to you just because it drives her nuts!
Katie tonight decided that she was not going to take orders from her sister Da Jie Jie(Big older sister) or not! And she said You not my boss I'n (no spelling errors Katieism) not listening to you. You boss your bear she might listen to you but I'n NOT. So Cordie whined that she was the Da Jie Jie and Katie had to listen to her. Okay stop right here and realise what I did, until Cordie started the whine it was simply Katie not wanting to be bossed now she has her foot in the door with ....... the possibility of antagonising her sister. Will she pass it up? Will she be good and let this opportunity slip by so her sister won't cry???
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
It was on and it went like this.....
K: You can't boss me I won't let you!
C: But I'm your big sister your Da Jie Jie I am your boss.
K: nope your not my boss your just my sister not my mother. (said with a glint in her eye and a toss of her head)
C:I want to boss you (little more whine inserted here)
K: (hahaha) nope your not the boss of me your never gonna boss me.

Okay this went on for a while I thought maybe they could iron it out I was listening in case someone got hit (which Cordie tends to do when she is frustrated)
So I stepped in and settled this one only to hear Katie under her breath mumble not my boss... with a huge smile on her sweet little face.

Katie has been our family tease for a long while now. My mom bought Chinese yo yo's the paper ones that you flick and it extends and then retracts.
We were at my parents house and Katie decided it was a magic wand and turned her ye Ye(Chinese for Grandfather) into a fish. Cordie would turn him back into a Ye Ye and Katie would zap him again turning him into something different all the time laughing so hard she was crying!
It drives Cordie nuts when Katie tells her that she is being a Paul Steven Harlow and she will cry and whine (both of which were Katie's goals) and says I am not! You are. then this goes back and forth forever I have hoped they would get tired of yelling at one another but sadly they have not. But Katie has achieved her primary goal which is to antagonise and irritate her sister and Cordie has not grasped the concept that she can control this by simply ignoring her sister!
So Uncle Steve look out there is another Tease in the family!

Conversation with Cordie tonight.

Okay I have been trying to put this into words to express it with everyone, because Cordie just amazes me every day (Katie too and I will share her stories next)
Mama: Cordie what is albinism?
Cordie: I have less pigment.
Mama: What does that mean?
Cordie: I have blonde hair and need sunblock.
Wow I am so impressed she can articulate why she has blonde hair and comes from China!
And our next snippet went like this......
M: Hey Cordie are you Chinese?
C: Yes!
M: Is Katie?
C: Yes!
M: What about Mama?
C: Yes
M: Daddy?
C: NO, not at all
M: What about Jo Jo? (spelling might be wrong but it's Chinese for mothers Brother)
C: A little
M: Jo Ma? (mothers brothers wife)
C: Yes!


Okay now she went through the list of friends and family and distinguished them all as either Chinese, Mostly Chinese, Some Chinese, Or none at all.
Evidently I'm Chinese because I am trying to learn Chinese and I will speak Chinese to the girls, that in her mind along with my eyes and dark hair qualify me to be Chinese. Oh I love these conversations!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Nothing and Everything

The title Nothing and Everything is how I have been feeling like nothing until God pulls strings and lets you know that you are a child of the most High.
As I sit here and type this I am struck by God's love. I am happy to announce that our tickets are purchased and we leave Oct. 5Th and return Oct. 19Th.
We had a tight spot and have been waiting for monies to be freed up to finish our adoption. Today was the day we had to have our tickets paid for and we have been sick because well the monies aren't here yet. (will be freed next week and we are truly grateful for my parents helping us I don't have enough words to express my joy and gratitude to them)
But in someways it's easier to go to your parents and ask for help, today we needed help we didn't even ask and God he had Brothers and Sisters in Christ come to our sides and step in to enabled us to be able to travel and bring our beloved son home.
There are two other people that have helped us I won't name them here but they know who they are. Please know that I am in such awe right now, I can't truly express the sheer love we feel. I don't feel worthy and in accepting your help I know that it was God's hand helping us through you. Thank you from the very depth of my soul for being the obedient servants of our loving Father.
It is so much easier to give gifts to people then to truly receive them. I feel so humble (in a good way) in tears writing this because I feel so much right now.
May the blessing of God rain,on you (and Reign and with you)

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

New Date to China!!!




Well we got a call yesterday as you can see I had changed our travel date to the 12Th of October and we were happy just to be traveling. A little worried about the trade fair but thrilled none the less. So this morning I got a call and they wanted us to leave a week earlier. I was not grasping that we would be getting Carlow earlier I thought we would have to stay in Guangzhou a week longer. I was trying so hard to grasp how that would be less expensive. Then it hit me we are traveling earlier Carlow is coming home a week sooner. God Is awesome and we will be a family October 5Th or 6Th probably.
So here is the announcement we leave for China (barring nothing else happening) October 3rd.

UPDATE:
Okay we got another call and the date now is the 5th of October.So there you go your as up to date as we are. God Bless you all for following us and hope that the time flies fast to bring Carlow HOME!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Final Approval!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you hear me??? FINAL APPROVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



We are so very excited to announce that we have our Final Approval, and we travel Oct. 12, 2007. Words can't even express how happy and excited we are. Please lift us in prayer as we hit the last leg of our China pregnancy. I have been having all the normal symptoms, nervous tummy, short temper, crying for no real reason, and the biggie sudden bursts of nesting resulting in the house being changed over and over again. Oh and did I mention packing? And repacking , and packing again. LOL anyway now you have the latest Vincent news!
Hugs and God Bless you all!
Bekah

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles everywhere



Outside playing today just had to share my little bubble wonders, One picture of Cordie gives me a glimps of her when she is much older lets see if you can guess which one that is.
Hugs,
Bekah

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Deja vu

Okay,
So this week I have been overcoming (in layman's terms recovering from a virus) And I have this creepy feeling of time repeating it's self. Only thank GOD the passports are safe this time! I can't find my wallet and last yr just before we traveled my purse was stolen. Well it's not my whole purse just the really cute red wallet my mother gave me for this trip!
So this feels really weird how/why does this happen just before we travel? What is my guardian angel laughing? I'm kidding, my angel would have a lot more then that to laugh at with me for a charge!
And onto a topic I don't feel like screaming about LOL. Tonight the girls and I cut up a magazine, I was using it for an exercise so the girls will get used to using scissors. But it turned out to have two really great lessons. I kept trying to think about what kind of collage the girls could make and just as we were finishing the last of the pics the girls chose the people in the book, I was hit by an inspiration. Yes it was probably that guardian angel again. The topic was creating families! What a neat thing the girls were able to mesh all differant kinds of people on their collages and tomorrow we will talk about how not all families are the same and some grow in their mommies tummys and some grow in their mommies' hearts. And how God has a plan for each of us and nothing happens by chance, that while they have a China mommy and they grew in her God knew that they were our children. Nothing God does is by accident. I will try and post pics of their art later! Well Night everyone God Bless you all.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Just sitting here thought I would chat

Well we are getting closer to traveling back to China, and I have been going over the lists of things to pack. Okay so I have been worried about weight limit and how many bags to take because it's just going to be Brad and I. Yes and the kiddos too but I really don't think they will be much help with the bags just yet.
I am excited and scared, Katie just bonded so quick and Cordie well she wanted nothing to do with this Mama at first she warmed up to me but it took a while.
If there is anyone new out there reading this, please don't worry bonding happens just at different times with different children. Cordie is so very close to me now, she wakes and checks on me at night and covers me up. I have caught her kissing me and then going back to her own bed. Anyone who knows us knows that this is a HUGE turn around from the scared little girl who would not sleep, then after you get her to sleep she would wake with night terrors. This happened 2 or 3 times a night when she first came home. When she learned more English she would scream MOMMY DON"T LEAVE ME, MOMMY WHERE ARE YOU! It tore my heart out I would always run in and hold her rocking her and reassuring her that we were her forever mama and baba. I thought I would never get to sleep ever again, it came down to when she woke up just holding her in bed with us. I swore that I wouldn't do that I felt it would spoil her and we would never get her in her own bed. Well after a few weeks of no sleep I caved but now I know she needed the hugs and the cuddle time to build that bond with us. Now she is a big girl she likes her bed and wants to sleep in it. Some mornings we wake up with her snuggled in with us and we never even heard her slip in. She thinks that is so funny. Our house is an older home and the lay out in our bed room is a little strange, there is a room attached to what is the master bed room. It could be a nursery, sitting room, sewing room, dressing room, or even a bed room which is what we used it for. But I am nesting and moved the rooms around. Our house has no central air so we depend on window units to cool everything in the summer and I had moved the kids into the master bed room and our bed was in the small sunroom. Well that was fine for a while until the girls started waking up and not telling me. The only door in and out is in the bigger part of the room so we switched the rooms Brad and I have the larger one and the kids have the little one. We have decorated it with Dora, Tinkerbell, Thomas the tank engine, and Diego. The girls love it! all three beds fit beautifully with plenty of room for laundry baskets and room to walk around. But the biggest benefit was Cordie became much more secure with this arrangement for the first time she started sleeping all night long. She as mentioned checks on us and goes back to her bed. This let me know that my little Cordie is finally feeling safe. We have pushed their toddler beds together so Katie and Cordie sleep together and they have slept like that for over a year now. That let me know how close they are becoming when they asked if they could sleep together. They want everything to be even and you would assume that meant that if you gave something to Katie that Cordie would be right there saying where is mine, but no it's Katie asking where is Cordie's. Cordie will do the same thing for Katie and they both say it's only fair. If there isn't any more they will break it and share with each other. Yes they do fight they after all are sisters, and the worst thing Katie can do to Cordie is say I not hoppy with you(no this is not a typo that is a Katieism), I not talking to you! To which Cordie comes in crying Mama Katie isn't talking to me (you have to draw that out in a long whine) Our talk starts with and what did you do?....silence.....What did you do to her? ....most of the time it was she wanted Katie to play something her way, but I have to share that Katie is an antagonist. So if this is the case then when I ask What is going on? Katie is antagonising me again! Cordie what are you supposed to do when she antagonises you? Ignore her. So then I hear this you can't talk to me I'm ignoring you! LOL Yes and it never ends I know Carlow is going to fit right in here the girls are waiting to Mother him and boss him around! Well I'm heading to bed it's late and maybe I can sleep now. God Bless you all, Oh I wanted to shout a few praises before I go our friend Rachel just got their daughter Josie home and we are very grateful to God for that blessing (among others that have been bestowed on their family check out their blog) The great news is that she can such her bottle! Thank you God your an Awesome God! AND our Friends Tracye and Joe's daughter Lexie had surgery a few weeks ago and we are praising God that she is doing fine! Along with awesome news about her hearing Thank you Father for our children and the protection that you have put around them. Tracye's blog is also on the links section please check them out.

Carlow

Katie

Cordie