Mason-Kate was born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate. Her cleft lip repair was performed in China when she was 5 1/2 months old. Her medical records state that she was part of the "Tomorrow Plan". I have always wondered exactly what that meant and today I got the answer. The Tomorrow Plan Project took place during the years of 2004 - 2007. It was launched by the Chinese government and was one of the largest humanitarian aid initiatives in history. Christian World Adoption agency helped promote and support this project. The purpose was to provide corrective surgeries to 30,000 orphans with special needs. Amazing!

Pryce announced today that he loves going to school in his pajamas. Me too! Many days I wear a hat due to the fact that we are just going to be around the house so why get all dolled up. Last week I took Pryce out shopping with me while Colin played golf. I told P I was sorry that I had a hat on AGAIN. He looked up and said, "It's ok mom, I like you like that!" He always knows what to say!

On most days I am quite confident when teaching the children. I feel as though I am teaching them what they need to know and then some, on most days. And then there are the days when I wonder why I am not as smart as they are! For instance, Colin had co-op homework that we were looking over together. One of his questions was about a maglev train. Assuming that he had no idea what this was, I told him he was going to need to do some research on it. No research needed. He quickly rattled off exactly what a maglev train was, how it operates and compared it to a monorail at Disney. Ok, so how did he learn this? His science book? No, he read it in a Disney book he read awhile ago! Unbelievable.

And Mason-Kate. She is so precious. She is still on her kick of telling us how much she loves us. When I tell her that I love her to the moon and back, she tells me that is too far! She is busy playing with probably the worst behaved child in her Mother's Day Out program so I am taking the approach that everyone needs a friend, even the not so obedient ones. She is growing up way too fast! Really.

We began our week anxious with unanswered questions, questions that we weren't even sure we wanted answers to. That was Monday. Tuesday we got the call. One of our own is sick - not Ryan, not me or the children but someone very special to us all. That was hard. Even MK, who is only two, put it all together by saying "she sick...doctors give her med-cine?".....Wednesday we talked with the boys. Knowing that they would hear us talk, knowing that they would hear one specific word and fear the worst, knowing that they love this person immensely, we knew that we needed to share with them what we know on their level. Of course their biggest concern is whether or not she will be ok. After reassuring them that the doctors are on top of her care and that we are confident all will be well, they said a prayer and we tucked them into bed. Our week continued on, filled with school, friends, and field trips. We attended baseball games, practices, golf and then the boys were "Gran Camp" bound with their cousin Emma for the weekend. Mason-Kate threw us for a loop on Friday by running a slight fever and having the "glassy eye" look. We are crossing our fingers all is well....what could it be, flu, swine flu or pneumonia???? Time will tell. All this, our life continues forward. We continue to run around, busy, absorbed in our daily lives yet we still can't shake the shock of the news that we received earlier in the week. Because I cannot end on a sorrowful note, I would like to share a typical P comment that made me laugh....P is so matter of fact, so innocent and I just love him to pieces. We were all at a restaurant, he was reading over his menu when he looked at me and said, "hey, mom, this is strange, you can order ice cold milk but you can't order just plain old milk, wonder why?".....

To The Beach And Back

At naptime, MK and I have our little routine....we read books, we rock and I sing to her the "Mason-Kate" song. Today she decided to sing along with me and when we stopped I said, "I love you more!" to which she replied, "No, I love you more!" and then I said, "I love you to the moon and back!"....she squealed and laughed for a minute while she was thinking of a response. Then she yelled, "I love you to the beach and back!"....that's my girl.

"Happy Cupcake!"

"Happy cupcake to you, happy cupcake to you, happy cupcake dear....", etc. Hearing MK sing this song just makes us all laugh. Of course, the words are a little construed but we all get the picture and none of us have bothered to try to teach her the correct words - it is just so cute her way. In fact, she loves to sing and will just belt out lyrics whenever she feels the desire. Last week we were getting ready for a bath and she was sitting on the potty singing "A B C D G F G...." which led me to invite the entire family into the bathroom for a concert - I had no idea she even knew that song. And then we have her "adult" favorites like Beyonce's "Halo". This seems to be a car song as she tends to sing it when she gets bored in the car. Again, her own version but just too cute. To top off all of the singing, she is even into making song requests in the car. She will say "Mommy, I need my song!" and she gets a little antsy if the request is overruled by her brothers. We all love music in our house so having another little one to sing with us is a wonderful addition!

We all got some practice this week singing the "Happy Cupcake" song....our neice/cousin, Emma, celebrated her 5th birthday on Friday and our friend Jaida (with MK) turned 3!

Our nephew/cousin Jay and MK had a grand time wondering around the farm during Emma's birthday party.

And here is the latest Cubscout in our family. Friday evening, Pryce was awarded his Bobcat badge during a Pack celebration. He loved having his face painted so much that he insisted sleeping with the make-up on. So cute!

Heavy Heart

This would be a post for those who have adopted a child with cleft lip and/or palate as it is mostly speech related. When we considered cleft lip and palate as a special need, we knew speech would be involved. We knew that because MK's palate was not repaired until after her first birthday, her speech would be delayed. We knew that her speech would be delayed because of her palate AND due to the fact that she had to learn an entirely new language once in the United States. We knew this. So why is it that today I have a heavy heart? Why is it that today I wanted my baby to fail? On every other day, I am boasting with happiness as she puts more and more words together. On every other day, I am so pleased to hear her putting phrases together, making requests, playing with her friends, singing songs that make no sense but today I am sitting here feeling a little helpless. Her speech is good. In isolation. She can make every sound. She can say two and three word phrases very clearly so that strangers understand. She will correct herself when I tell her she isn't saying something correctly. Yet, her speech needs work. Her speech, like most 2 year olds, lacks continuity, articulation and form. The frustrating part is that she is not like most 2 year olds. For "most" two year olds, their speech will form without therapy. For cleft children like MK, it takes work. Lots of work. MK speaks as well as she does due to lots of work. With the help of a state funded program called Babies Can't Wait, we have received services for speech since MK's arrival in the US at minimal costs. On her third birthday, those services will end and she will either qualify for services through our local school district or we will need to go private. Going private is costly. Going to school is not. So today MK was seen by a lady who will coordinate testing to see whether or not she will qualify for school services. I didn't get a good vibe when the lady pulled out MK's test scores from May and said, "Wow, you don't normally see scores this high!".....and that is when I began to feel the urge to just cry. Mason-Kate's scores are high. Mason-Kate can talk. She can be somewhat understood. Yet I want her to fail? Yes, because she needs work....she needs speech therapy, I need someone to tell me what is age appropriate and what isn't, she needs someone to tell her how to make sounds or suggest exercises to strengthen certain oral muscles. I don't want her peers to tell her she doesn't speak clearly or mock her for not articulating. Did I mention that insurance will not cover private speech therapy? Well, at least they haven't yet. And it will be a battle to get coverage. So disappointing. My mom would say, "This too shall pass...." and it will, but as for today, I have a heavy heart.

Once again our weekend was spent visiting Seabrook Island for one last summertime hurrah. Ryan and I are fortunate that Ryan's parents have a home there for our family to use. My children eat it up! For days prior to the visit, the boys were asking "can we go to the Lollipop Shop?" and "can we please eat at Pelican's Nest for dinner, they have the best hot dogs!" and "can we ride our bikes all around the island?" and the list continues.....my favorite, though, is hearing Pryce ask "don't you just love Seabrook? I do!" I am pretty sure he declares Seabrook his favorite destination every time we go. My personal goal for the trip was to capture some good photos of the children together. This did not bode well with my children as they had ideas of their own. The part that made us laugh through it all was hearing MK complain....she doesn't just complain, she hears what the boys say and then repeats it with an ever-so-exaggerated voice.

Precious