Real Mom

My boys are tennis players. They love it! Usually, I will take them and hang out around the courts with other parents and MK while they hit. This week I encountered a little seven year old girl who was relentless. She was full of energy. Poor Mason-Kate tried so hard to escape the little girl's lively antics but had little success. At one point the little girl disappeared and Mason-Kate got out of my arms to explore a few steps away from me. The little girl jumped out of nowhere, bent over, got right in MK's face and yelled "Bot-tum, bot-tum" (should you try to say this word at home, make sure you accent the "tum" with a loud shrilling sound). Mason-Kate was standing there like a deer in headlights, her eyes were big and she wasn't moving, she was scared. So I walked over, picked MK up and asked the little girl what in the world she was saying. She repeated the word and told me it meant "excuse me in French Chinese." Then she said that she was saying it because she wanted to see if MK could speak French Chinese. Having never heard of this particular language, I simply told the little one that Mason-Kate spoke English. Inside I was laughing because the little girl was quite entertaining and MK could not figure out what to make of her lively behavior. Well, not too long after the "French Chinese" encounter, the little girl reappeared. MK was off exploring, again, a few steps away. The little girl very quickly told me that I should have Mason-Kate right next to me. I told her MK was fine to play and that she wasn't too far away for me to watch. She proceeded to tell me that her parents would "freak" if she wasn't right beside them....hmmm, this I found odd as the little girls parents had simply dropped her off for two hours with her 3 siblings at our tennis courts. Did I mention the little girl is only SEVEN! And her siblings weren't watching her, they were playing tennis. Anyway, just before the boys were finished, the little girl came over to me once again and asked me where MK's real mom was. I told her that I was her real mom, thinking that this would suffice. WRONG! She says, "no, I mean her REAL mom, the one that grew her." Ok, I was prepared, so I bent down and explained to her that MK has two moms, one mom that "grew" her and gave her life in China and another mom who will teach her how to live it. Finally, she was satisfied and I did not see her again.

What was it like?

MK with cousin Aleigh

Last weekend we traveled to NC to spend some time with my brother, Chris, his wife, Amanda and their two girls, Aleigh and Mary-Kate. The boys were so thrilled to see their cousins! We had a great time catching up and introducing them to Mason-Kate for the first time ever. An hour or so before we left, Aleigh (5) came over to me and said, "she is really cute". I, of course, said thank you. Then she said, "What was it (China) like?" Honestly, I was stumped. I am so used to having people ask us questions about our adoption. Everyone asks if it was hard (yes and no), a lot of people ask us why we chose China or did we consider another country (I give a lot of different reasons for why we chose China because, to be honest, I don't know exactly why - what I do know is that we never considered another country, the US included, and China always felt good), people will ask about the one child policy, the ever growing and excrutiating wait and most children are only interested in knowing if she can speak Chinese (no)....all of these questions I can answer, and yet I could not tell my five year old niece what China was like. I remember my first thought was that it was very dirty and I didn't want to tell her that because it was so negative. I think I rattled off something to the effect of it being large and then went on to tell her how sad I was that we had to leave, she seemed satisfied with this so all was well. Then, on the way home, I thought about what I will tell Mason-Kate one day when she asks me what China was like. I asked the boys what they thought China was like. Pryce yelled "awesome" and Colin said "it was full of a bunch of strangers." Ryan then said that, to him, it was a country in the midst of a huge economic change. Me, I am still pondering. The cities were so busy and incredibly full of people, busy people. Yet, the countryside seemed so quiet and peaceful. The cities were layered in smog and wreaked of cigarette smoke inside every building. The countryside allowed for a breath of fresh air and was lined with different shades of green. I remember thinking while we were there just how different China is, not bad or good, just different. Our cultures are both so unique. I am thankful to Aleigh for asking what it was like. Until then, I hadn't really thought about how to describe China to a child.

Dianjiang Friend

On Saturday we had the pleasure of meeting one of Mason-Kate's former orphanage mates. After 7+ months of emailing and blog watching, we met little Jackson Heath. He is four years old and just precious! Jackson brought his parents with him and his two beautiful sisters to boot. We had a wonderful lunch together and just enjoyed sharing experiences to date. Jackson has been home now for 5 months and it is amazing to see how well he has adjusted, how well he communicates and how much he loves his forever family! We can't wait to meet up with their family again soon!

Good Quote

"You will, in adopting this child, make the child your own. Your life will swerve to meet the child's; the two of you will begin to develop in tandem, becoming different people than you would have been without each other."

Poor Baby Girl

I was all set to do an exciting post about our Fall break adventures and then today happened! Ugh, what a day it was. It started with Mason-Kate's doctor appointment. It was a check-up and, on a positive note, she has gained 3 1/2 pounds and grown 3 inches in just 3 months. At the check-up I mentioned to her dr. that there were concerns in the adoption community for melamine poisoning. Unfortunately, MK was on the tainted formula during her time in China. So, the dr. stated that the tests that were recommended were fairly simple. One, a urinalysis, would involve a bag being placed in her diaper and all was supposed to be simple with that one....well, two bags later and two dirty diapers later, the bag is yet to be a success for us! So, the next test would involve having blood drawn. Seeing as she has not had any bloodwork done since her arrival in the US, we agreed that the dr. would add that to her extended lab workup and it, too, would be easy. It was confirmed today that our precious MK does not have veins. They do not pop up, they cannot be felt and they certainly cannot be found by digging a needle in her arm! I honestly am convinced that her little arms are swollen due to the pounding that three ladies did to her while searching for a vein, any vein. Needless to say, after 2 1/2 hours of the lab, Mason-Kate and I were both traumatized. They did finally get some blood and had to do so using both arms....and they still aren't sure that they have enough to send off! To top it all off, she had three shots and a TB stick test done as well. During all of this, MK was screaming and kicking and flinching all around. The nurses kept saying how strong she was. I finally told them that her strength is what has gotten her this far and what will carry her on through. Our girl is a trooper!