Month in Review

Sorry that it has been so slow. With the start of the school year and Bret's new job, we've been super busy.

We promise to do better soon.

Here are some August pics until then.

Grant's first day of preschool. Mommy could cry.

Grant playing soccer.


Having fun at home.

Some Holiday World pics. Grant's addicted to rollercoasters, and he talks about riding Thunder Mountain (at Disneyworld) every single day (we're heading to Florida in October).

Birthday Parties, Soccer, and Three Year Olds

On Saturday, Grant participated in his first team sport -- soccer. It was his first practice, and at the end, they played an impromptu game with another team of three and four year old kids.

Soccer with three year olds was about what you'd expect. Some kids actually went for the ball, some ran back and forth between the field and mommy, and others were content to graze like Ferdinand the Bull.

For most of the morning, Grant was relatively engaged in the actual playing of the sport. He seemed like he understood the basics; although, he did repeatedly line the ball up with the goal using his hands. I explained to him that whoever the geniuses were that invented this game decided that you couldn't use your hands. The expression of confusion he returned mimicked my own. In the end, it seemed like things were going along very smoothly, until Natalie informed Grant that she was BETTER at soccer than him.

Grant and Natalie were introduced to each other early in the practice. Natalie informed another teammate that she wanted to stand next to "the kid with the cool moves." (This came shortly after Grant had shown her some his patented dance moves. What girl could resist?) By later taunting Grant, she taught him a valuable lesson about the ladies -- they shouldn't be allowed to play on the same field as boys. (I kid, I kid...)

Anyway, after Natalie told Grant that she was the better midfielder, he immediately began hollering and growling (his latest habit) and stormed off the field. Erin and I did our best to calm him down and get him back onto the field, but his interest was pretty well gone for the day. Luckily practice was almost over anyway. Natalie 1, Grant 0.

Today we celebrated my nephew's first birthday. Happy Birthday, Drew Michael! Watching Drew Michael wander all over my sister's house got me to thinking a lot tonight about how quickly kids develop in the first couple of years. This, combined with Grant's soccer and dance moves, got me to thinking a lot about just how blessed we are to have healthy, active kids.

As I sit here, it makes me tear up to think about something...ANYTHING...taking away the beautiful energy and spunk that Grant possesses. He has an absolute passion for anything he gets involved with, including things as wide ranging as soccer and dinosaurs. He just lights up at the world around him, and it really is one of the things in life right now that I truly adore. The fact that Grant and Grace are so healthy and vibrant is a gift from God, and I just don't want to ever take that for granted.

I hope as parents that we're able to focus and cultivate that energy in all of our kids. It's a wonderful thing to look at both Grant and Grace right now and think that they can do anything they want to in life (as long as it doesn't involve the mob or a stripper pole). And it's pretty great that we, as parents, get to watch our kids grow up and help them along the way. What a gift...

State Fair

The lion, quietly approaches his prey. He's careful to make as little noise as possible as he slinks across the savanna, carefully watching the every move of his next meal. Eventually he comes up from behind and...WHOMP!

Yes, siree Bob, that's a Krispy Kreme donut burger being attacked by yours truly. Erin liked this picture because it demonstrated my ability to unhinge my lower jaw when eating a burger. It's a beautiful thing.

Here are some more random pictures from this week's trip to the Indiana State Fair. Enjoy!

So, this is what happens when...

Mommy cleans out the closet: impromptu dress up!

Trade Offs

One of the unexpected outcomes of my return to full-time employment is that when I return home at the end of the work day, Grant just lights up. He's almost unable to contain all of the stuff he wants to tell me about -- what he did all day, how many times Grace has been in trouble, how much he ate at lunch, etc. It's really touching, and it makes me a little teary to think about how genuinely excited Grant is in those moments. I suppose he just got used to me being around for the past few months, so my presence wasn't anything special (Erin went through a similar period after we had been married a while. I suppose eventually it will let up.)

Grace also shows signs of being excited by my return each day, but her response is more geared towards me being someone else to do her bidding. It has less to do with her being excited at my return and more to do with there now being another person in the house to respond to her screams. But alas.

So I guess the trade off is that I only get to see the kids a couple of hours in the evening, rather than all day like has been the case for the past few months. But perhaps absence truly does make the heart grow fonder, and that time will be some solid, quality family time each evening.

Or perhaps by next week both Grant and Grace will realize that I really am returning every day and will go back to punching me in the crotch and throwing food at my head. Only time will tell.

Work is Hard

I've now worked two days at my new job.

I've slept approximately 12 hours total over the past two nights.

I've worked approximately 8 hours each work day.

I've been at my desk one hour total in two days.

I've spent the other 15 hours in training.

I'm so tired that I can barely stay up long enough to eat when I get home.

Who knew that four months off would render me unable to store up enough energy to actually work a full day?

Note to other people who take extended summer vacations -- drooling on oneself in front of your new boss is not looked upon favorably.

I'll post more oncessssss.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............

Employment

As most of you probably know, I was laid off back in May from my job in the consumer electronics industry. It wasn't totally unexpected, and it wasn't an all bad thing. I had worked in basically the same company (under various guises) for 15 years, and it was time to make a change.

Additionally, we decided earlier in the year that Erin would not teach in the coming school year, instead choosing to stay home with the kids (which will result, no doubt, in a slightly slower, but no less complete, drain on her sanity). Therefore we've been living the past few months in a state of unemployed bliss, choosing to spend time traveling and enjoying the summer as a family.

But fortunately, our condition is coming to an end on Monday morning. I've taken a new job with a small (15 people) software company here in Indy. They make software products to automate various human resource tasks for school districts. My position will primarily involve providing support to the various schools once they've purchased the products, including providing training and looking for further enhancements to the product line.

I really couldn't be more excited about the position, and we feel extremely blessed that I was able to find employment quickly in the current economic climate. The job will give me the opportunity to work directly with customers, travel a little bit domestically, and expand on what limited skills I possess.

So come Monday morning, I'll be dragging out of bed early to head into work, while Erin begins her first year home with the kids. Say a little prayer for both of us. We're going to need it.

Happy Birth...What the...

Yesterday at church, we went to pick Grant up from his Sunday School class. When we arrived, his teacher said, "Oh wait, we need to sing 'Happy Birthday.'" Naturally I assumed that some kid was having a birthday that day, and she wanted to make sure that he or she received the traditional birthday serenade.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear Grant.."

Hold the phone. Grant? Is there some OTHER Grant in this Sunday school class? We stopped the festivities and were informed that Grant had informed the class that it was his birthday. Apparently his jealousy at his cousin's birthday party on Saturday carried over to church on Sunday, and he saw the opportunity for a good con.

We explained to his teacher that it was not Grant's birthday. We explained to Grant that you can't just SAY it's your birthday. (I gave him a little side lecture on lying at church. "You have to pick the time and place, son, and church isn't it.")

He cried and complained that he wanted them to sing to him, and I cried back and complained that I wanted a son who wasn't delusional. In the end, nobody got what they wanted, and we went to Taco Bell for some after-church gastrointestinal distress.

This morning Grant inquired as to whether his birth date could be moved, preferably to something in the coming week. I told him that his birthday was January 13, and the likelihood of that ever changing was very slight. He wasn't happy about it, but I think he finally got the message.

One Year Ago Today...

One year ago today,we were given our sweet Tong Min Wei. Inside the Jin Feng Hotel in Nanchang, a nanny from her village orphanage and the orphanage director put little Wei Wei in our arms. We had dreamed about the moment for so long, but nothing could prep us for that very moment. She was so scared and so sick.

She cried for so long (until I put her in the sink for a bath), and she slept through the night (no doubt from sheer exhaustion). She has changed so much in a year. Sometimes, it feels just like yesterday they brought her to us. In other ways, it feels like forever ago that we were in China.

One thing we know: we were meant to raise this child. We love her so infinitely much. We feel so blessed to be her parents.

Grace is a gift from God, the giver of good gifts, of which, she is one of the greatest.

WWJD Goes Kung Fu

On the way home from our reunion visit with our fellow adoptive parents from China, Grant inquired as to whether Jesus wears any clothes. Erin informed him that Jesus wears flowing white robes.

"Does he do karate in them?"

Ah, Grant. One does take a certain amount of comfort in knowing that the Savior of the world could unleash a flurry of hand chops and spinning heel kicks if the situation deemed it appropriate.

So this past weekend was spent in Cincinnati with several of the families that traveled with us to China to pickup Grace last August. We really did have a fantastic time, and I know it will be good for Grace to have these friends with whom she shares a special piece of her past as she gets older. Plus Erin and I have enjoyed becoming closer with some of our friends from the trip as well.

Grant, as always, was in seventh heaven ("the dojo") with so many little girls around. We spent a large portion of the weekend explaining to him that he couldn't hang on, touch, caress, or court every young lady with whom he comes into contact. This greatly irritated him, but didn't slow him down.

Over the course of the weekend we visited the Newport Aquarium and the Cincinnati Children's Museum. The Children's Museum is housed in the former Union Terminal train station in downtown Cincy. The building was constructed in 1933, and I greatly enjoyed the history of the facility and its art deco interior. We originally had intended to visit the zoo on Saturday, but given that it was about six degrees above the point where the human body begins to cook itself, we decided to do the museum instead. Good choice. I perfer my heart beating, rather than scrambled with ham.

While visiting the museum, a gentlemen mumbled "Boiler Up!" as he walked past, a nod to my t-shirt proclaiming "Purdue Athletics" -- slightly stretched across my beer gut so it looked a bit more like "Purdue Attttthhhhhhhhll..." I turned and saw a slightly frazzled guy in bike shorts amongst the other museum patrons. I mumbled, "Yeah" in return, wishing that at some point the stereotype of Purdue having a 40000:2 boy/girl ratio would break down.

Does this happen with people from other universities? Do Ohio State fans mumble "Go Buckeyes" at each other? (I've shouted something similar at poorly driven vehicles on the road before.) Perhaps I should take pride that my fellow alums are so quick to take note of each other. I guess the part of me that feels like my college years were a little rough in a lot of ways doesn't miss Purdue enough to want to relive the memories with a total stranger. Apparently the other 39,999 men from my graduating class feel differently.

Here are a few pictures from the reunion:

I especially like the low flying plane in the background of this one...



In other news, my job situation is progressing. I should have more definitive things to talk about on that front next week.

I Need Some Shirts

One of the things we cherish about this blog is that it gives us an easy way to go back and look at our vacations, family events, and where we've eaten over the past five or six years. Unfortunately it also highlights the fact that I never buy clothes.

I've always sort of prided myself on wearing things until they crawl out of my closet on their own, begging for the sweat relief that Goodwill will bring. But perhaps I've taken this too far. As I've been job hunting, I've been considering that when I eventually start a new career, I should probably go out and buy some new clothes.

I mentioned this to Erin, and she agreed that this was probably a good idea. As we had this conversation, I took note of the fact that I was wearing a "Senor Frog's" t-shirt that my in-laws picked up in the Caribbean on a cruise. I think the cruise was about five years ago, but the shirt has held up well, it's comfortable, and I wear it a lot. Perhaps too much.

I began looking through pictures on the blog, and I discovered that this shirt has gotten around. It made an appearance just a couple of months ago in this post while watching Grant's swim lessons.

It made several appearances in this post when we went to Williamsburg last year

It was with me in this post when we came back from China with Grace...

It was one of the three shirts I wore during the whole adoption trip in China, as seen in this post...

...on the train across China...

At IKEA in Cincinnati with Grant...

On vacation in this post two years ago...

As a pirate on our cruise three years ago...

Anyway, you get the point. Amazingly this shirt hasn't yet begun to dissolve. But I'm pretty sure I caught it trying to hitchhike out of our driveway a few days ago.

Update #4: Grace

Oh, little Miss Grace. As we head up our Gotcha day at the beginning of August, it becomes necessary to catch up with the little diva.

And, oh, what a diva she is! She is the most opinionated, most stubborn, spiciest thing around! She is one tough cookie. She doesn't care (one bit!) about getting in trouble, and I swear she gives me the finger from time to time. She melts down, screams, kicks, claws. She isn't the easiest child to parent.

But, she sure is the easiest child to love. She is so smart, so loving, and so full of energy (not to mention--she's just too cute).

Here are some things that she's doing or things I find endearing:

1. She talks all the time. She has moved well beyond the word and the phrase category into full blown sentences. Some of the words still have a "China-twang," but many of them are crystal clear. It's amazing to me that in ten months she has learned so much--how amazing. Grace talks more than most two-year-olds, and she spent the first 14 months of her life listening to Mandarin! My favorite thing she said recently (upon putting her in her crib for her nap): "I need some help in here." Makes sense: she had just dropped her mouse. Just today as she was "helping" me clean my office, she said, "Can I take this home?" while holding a toy from my desk. My favorite (but not really) is when she says, "What the heck?" I guess she's heard that a time or two from Mommy's mouth. She might not be quite as verbal as her brother, but she holds her own. Just recently she started saying "I need _(fill in blank with wanted item)______ more." It's so cute to hear "I need peanut butter more." She makes me laugh.

2. Grant never had an attachment to anything: not a blanket, not a stuffed animal. But our little Grace has some serious attachments. First off, she has dubbed a blanket officially hers. Problem is, it's huge--like a parent-sized throw blanket. Needless to say, if I knew she was going to develop an attachment for one blanket, I would have found a little, baby-sized one. At least, we have convinced her that the blanket does not need to leave the house! In addition to the blanket, she has a fondness for a particular Mickey Mouse plushie that once belonged to her brother. Let's be clear: it no longer belongs to her brother. If he tried to claim rights now, he'd have a fight on his hands. And let's be clear, again: she'd win. (Vacation Update since I started this post before vacation: Mouse was lost on vacation. I don't know if she dropped him out the van door by accident, but I think Mouse is somewhere in South Carolina. We bought Grace a new puppy, and she transitioned better than I thought she would).

3. She loves to "mother." She mothers babies. She mothers all variety of stuffed animals. If there's a need (real or imagined) or a cry (real or imagined), Grace is the girl for the job--ready to dish out kisses or bottles (real or imagined) to help. She can be so sweet. I don't think she'll be the jealous one if and when we bring home baby #3. I can say that now...

4. Grace finally decided she was "all in" with our family in the last few months. She was holding out a little, struggling to attach wholly. But, she's finally decided this is all "for keeps," and now, she is much more willing to be independent, much more willing to laugh and to show her personality. She's funny. She loves to laugh.

5. The girl has no interest in books or tv. Grant is addicted to books and to tv. Hmmm...

More on Grace later... these are just a few of the things to tell.

Nice Shot

Grant has entered the stage where he wants to play karate with me all the time. (I say "entered the stage" as though ALL children enter a stage where they act like ninjas and attack you with rubber weaponry. This may not be accurate.)

This all started when he watched "Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword" on Netflix. He now yells "Hiiiiiii-YA" and comes running at me full steam. Sometimes this ends with a karate chop of some sort, or perhaps a flying leap into my lap. The times that concern me are when it ends with a flurry of slapping or dancing. I am trying to get these instances under control.

Today at church while we stood in the lobby waiting to shake hands with the pastor, Grant turned and without warning, punched me right in the crotch. Right. In. The. Berries. A Patriot missile couldn't have made a more direct strike.

A fellow church goer saw the whole thing and remarked, "That's what you need in the morning." Indeed.

It was probably a good thing that I was foaming at the mouth and not able to form the words "son of a ..." in church. On the way to the parking lot, we had a discussion with Grant regarding punching people in the crotch. The basic gist was, "Don't do that." I think he got the message.

It's a good thing we're pro-adoption. I'm pretty sure there's a part of me that can no longer consider other options.

Back Home Again in Indiana

After a stop in Birmingham to see cousins, we made it home. Our whirlwind vacation came to an end, and as of right now, both kids are happily napping in their own beds. It was an amazing, unforgettable time--a real gift--and we will be forever thankful.

Here are our some pictures from our time in Birmingham where it was waterslides, cousins, good food, cousins, baseball, cousins, creek stomping, cousins and so much fun.

More Colorado Pics

Here are our pics from the last few days.

At the top of the Keystone resort (Grace was one unhappy chica!)



Eating at our fav restaurant in Breckenridge (the motherloaded)


Lots of swimming (Grant's favorite activity)


At the Colorado Railroad Museum



At the top of Mount Evans (the highest motor road in the U.S.--read: almost a marriage ender):



Our visit to the adoption agency that we used for Grace's adoption. We showed up unannounced, received a full tour, and got lots of pics with Josh and Lily (the founders). It was very special to say thank you.




And finally, tonight we went to the Lakeside amusement park (think really old, but very cool, carnival). It's been around since 1908, and for $19.50 (four admissions, rides for Grant and Grace and five [you do the math] drinks), it was a great few hours. Grant loved every ride, especially the roller-coaster (he even held his hands up the whole time), which makes Mommy happy as I am a HUGE roller-coaster fan.