FINALLY HOME

We have been home a week today with our precious baby. Wow this week has flown by. Maybe because of the tiredness that has come from readjusting back to US time.  I've been worn down. I can say that I've had a clean house considering I have to keep moving to keep my eyes open. ha ha  Reece has done fantastic!!! He is a totally different child than he was 3 weeks ago. When we first got him he was in such shock the poor baby couldn't even function and now he runs all over my house digging in anything he can get his hands on! I know he still has a long way to go. There are times he may wake up crying and upset and there are times he wakes up smiling from ear to ear. There are times he lets me hold him and love on him and there are times he's all boy and he has better things he'd rather be digging in rater than letting mama hug on him.  He's learning it's safe here and with that safety, his personality shines! He is so precious. He has a smile that will melt your heart!  Our girls have been loving him being here.  Maegan has had a little trouble at times as she realizes her brother messes up her room or she has to share HIS toys with him. She's use to being the baby. However she is still doing wonderfully. This is a huge change for everyone but everything seems to be going smoothly for now. I couldn't have asked for a better week. We even went grocery shopping. As much as I didn't want to, I was out of food. My kids had no more milk, breakfast nor lunch they could dig up so I loaded them all up and off we went. They did great! Same on chaos like normal! HA!!! Reece does not talk. Not even in Chinese. He grunts and points to get his point across but i'm not sure if he CAN talk or if he's choosing not to talk. He has appointments next week with pediatrician and also with eye doctor. Please pray for him as I'm sure he's fixing to zone out on them. He does that when he's overwhelmed. He zones completely out. We have also realized very early on he does not know how to suck a bottle, sippy cup, nothing. I know we will be in need of a great OT for him. Pray that God leads us to where we need to be and who will be the best help for him. Thank you all for your prayers and your support as our new journey with 5 kiddos begin! It's going to be a great summer!!! :)

FUN TIMES IN CHINA!

Ok, so I've been really busy the past couple of days having to pack up to come to Guangzhou for our last week in country so I haven't had to chance to really update you guys. SOOOO first let me talk about our sweet little man. He does NOT like to be in a seat belt .. found that out on the whole air ride to GZ. Yes we had the screaming kid almost all  the way there. He does not like high chairs, strollers or anything that would strap him in. NOt that he's scared.. he gets mad. I've learned when he gets mad there is not bargaining with him. Can't tempt him with candy, juice, toys nothing.. he's very stubborn. Kind of like he's stubborn with the whole i'm drinking only from a spoon deal. :)  I don't mind it though. I know he will have to learn to drink from a cup but for now i'm fine spoon feeding him...... because he lets me do it. :)  He's still very quiet. He  has come such a long long way in the last week. He's starting to be that little kid that grabs everything off shelves.. dig in all the drawers but usually only when we have him inside with us. But TODAY he had to go for his medical. He zoned out on the way there like he normally does. He just shuts down. But after being there a while and seeing the other kids he came to life. He was walking up to everyone he saw with food!!! Then i'm apologizing ten million times to families I don't even know. And yes he had his own snacks.. he just wanted theirs too. He doesn't know when to stop shoving food in his mouth so that's interesting a times when he gets choked and you have to catch it all in the restaurant at dinner. lol  He's a precious precious boy. We've seen that he's had NO structure what so ever and that will probably be our most challenging thing to deal with especially since he does have a stubborn side. He will learn. ;) I love him already so much that I just can't imagine us without him! He's going potty pretty good today! I have to tell him what sounds like NOW NOW to go but he's doing great. He does go in his pull up at times and we just dismiss it and keep on going. Not stressing over it at all. No melt downs today so far which is awesome. He did not cry when he had his blood drawn today which was surprising to me. But sweet boy is making great progress! He's a little trooper!

As far as adventures in China... new stuff that I've tried since the last time I updated the food.... congee ..... it's like watered down mushy rice. That's the only way I know how to describe it. Reece loves eating it and it stinks really but not horrible taste.
Pork biscuit.. it's like a steamed roll with meat inside.. actually pretty tasty
ok ready for this one?? I had to try it.. where else would I try??? The sign read PORK EAR... yeap I decided to try it... lol  While it's not something I'd eat at home.. it was not nasty. It was seasoned heavy but it was very fatty tasting and like cartilage so a little hard to chew . But over all, it wasn't bad. Would I eat it again? NAAAA  not for me. ;)
Today , we eat mcdonalds and starbucks!! Can I get a AMEN!! yes!!!!

SO our airplane ride... we left our hotel and boarded our plane. As soon as I buckled Reece in he was mad.. bucking like a little bull because he didn't want to be strapped in. Yeap that was fun. He cried almost the whole time. He DID be quiet long enough to eat his dinner they gave him. I know the people on the plane were glad he was eating. I then made MENTAL NOTE TO SELF:  bring the sleeping meds out of suitcase on the airplane!!! We leave at night this go around so hopefully that will help him. We arrive in GZ and we all had to pack into a bus with the little things hanging from ceiling to hang on to. I could see before I ever got on it was PACKED FULL! Oh that was fun. If Wes had a butt, it probably would've been sticking out the door....LOL Hanging on to those straps with a kid in hand.. yeah it was great on top of it feeling like it was 100 degrees!!! Was so glad to get off that thing. We met our new guide, Grace... we had to wait on our bus. It was kinda late. It was very humid especially so late at night. I mean sweat pouring and for those of you who know me.. i'm usually cold so when I say it's hot, it is very hot. We got on the bus which had air. YAY!! We're on the interstate and all of a sudden our bus driver starts slowing down (our guide was not with us) he slowly pulls off the side of the road. At that moment my heart fell to my feet. It scared me. We are in the middle of China in the middle of a night with a Chinese bus driver who speaks not one word of English. OH LAWD!! However we had a flat tire. So guy gets out... we hear him KICKING the tires.. we started laughing because honestly, what's that going to do.. make your rounds kicking all the tires.. lol Yes it was funny. He put up this little bitty make shift caution thing behind the bus.. don't think anyone would have seen it for real. He's been talking on his phone...he comes on bus and say the only English words.. Flat tire. So the guys get out to see if they can help. We look out the window and they're all lined up staring at the flat tire. bwah ha ha ha.. just like men!!  Wes said he had this little bitty thing that we was trying to use as a jack on that big ole bus but the guy didn't know how to change it.. but we never saw a spare tire either. WE all  did get a good laugh out of it all. After over an hour stranded, his buddy brought another bus so we made it safe and sound to our hotel! Fun times fun times! GZ is different from our first province. It's like a large city with really big buildings. We went from a very poor area to what seems like a more well off area. Or so it seems. People don't stare AS hard here at us but yeah they still stare. I mean we've had people turn around and walk backwards to stare us down. We are def. the outsiders here. But we care not. We have our baby so they can stare all they want.

Oh and one more story for you so you can laugh along with us. Wes and I laughed so hard. You guys know I don't have boys so this is a first for us. hee hee So I took Reece to potty .. a little while later, wes was like.. Heather I think he peed down his pants. I looked and was like.. what? I just put a clean pull up on him. So I go to take his pants off to inspect and yall I had his little thingy trapped outside his pull up. bwah ha ha ha ha ha.. Wes busted out laughing and I did too as Reece looked at us like we were crazy. Wes was like.. uh Heather you gotta make sure it's in the pull up. lol I don't think I"ve laughed so hard since we've been here. I'm sure that's one of many many things retarded I"ll do with our boy. But it was funny as all get out!! HA!!!
Love you guys!! Keep praying for us and for Reece's transition. He's doing great!

Long Day

We've had a couple of great days with  Reece. His little personality is shining more and more with us. He's still very quiet and seems to shut down when we are outside of of our hotel room. I know that he's just way more comfortable in our room without all the confusion and lots of people around. Today we went to the zoo. While it was a great treat, Reece really didn't care to see the animals too much. He hit his shut down mode on us. The only thing that really got his attention was the seals and some of the fish. Oh and the big gorilla sitting right in front of the glass. Besides that he really didn't care. We did see a few grins out of him just walking around with him and he looking at all the trees. We were also able to get some smiles just from talking to him and playing a little. Once we got to the little play area, he didn't want to play. Still in the shut down mode. So we sat as he watched the others play. Bless his heart. We came back to hotel, he played for a good while in here and then I layed him down for a nap. Thankfully this baby lays down to sleep with   no issues what so ever. But when he woke up, he was in complete melt down mode. He cried and cried for almost two hours. 80 percent of it was no tears.. he just kept going. So I just let him cry it out. Held him, rocked him, waited. He finally perked up when he got his bath. I know this whole adjustment is so hard on him and i'm sure it's very frustrating considering he can't understand a word we are saying. Please pray for peace and comfort for his heart. He's hurting and confused. We leave out today for GZ for our final week. Will update you as soon as we can. Love you all!

Behind Closed Doors

Reece has been very very quiet since we got him yesterday. He slept all night long with me in the bed. I actually had to wake him up this morning to get him ready to go to the civil affairs office to finalize the adoption! So exciting !  We went and ate breakfast. He was really enjoying himself. He actually grunted at me a couple of times pointing. He then .... oh my goodness.. he's trying to talk to Wes as I'm typing!! SWEET BABY!!!! That's the first time I've heard him try!  (huge smiles) Ok breakfast.. he did well. We then went back to our room to get our stuff for civil affairs...Reece for the first time started crying. As soon as we walked in the room. It was so pitiful. He was not throwing a fit. He was grieving. All I could do was hold him on the bed to try to comfort him. I think at that moment he knew he was stuck with us. Bless his heart. He's  not loud or he doesn't scream when he cries.. you could tell it was a genuine upset cry. My heart broke but at the same time I knew he had been bottling it all up since yesterday and this would be good for him. It only lasted 10 minutes. We headed to do our legal stuff and once again Reece was very quiet and to himself. It's as if we went backwards a bit. Then this afternoon, I claimed he was going to take a nap.. that hasn't happened. Instead we talked to my parents on Skype.. the little booger started feeding himself some cheesy sticks after I said he won't really do it. Kids always have a way of making you look like a liar. lol He then proceed to drink juice from his sippy cup  which he had not done at all!  After Mom and Dad got off, Wes headed to get lunch and Reece and I played. No one see's this side of him but us. Everyone around us see his distress and very quiet self but when he settles in we start seeing his beautiful personality starting to shine as he is starting to trust us a little more. We see the smiles, the giggles, the playfulness inside. I know with more time he will show others his real side but for now I'm so humbled and thankful that he IS showing them to us. Even if it is behind the closed door of our hotel room. I'm perfectly content with that!

God's Gifts

God has once again given us a precious child. Reece is so precious and beautiful. My heart is so full for him to be OURS!  Meeting him to me was a lot like me laying my eyes on my kids for the first time when they were born. You already love them while you wait.. then that moment comes.. the day your eyes meet. OHHHHHH my heart. I was immediately taken by him just like with all my girls. I held it together better than with my girls though. ha ha  I did cry yes, but I was trying not to scare him . He was very quiet and just looked around. He stayed quiet most of the day. He was in complete shock. He didn't know how to act, what to do or anything. Very still. It was sad for me to know that he was that distressed. But he has been a true treasure. We gets smiles out of him with bubbles. He loves the bath. He came to life a little bit at dinner.. banging on the table..making a mess... you know the normal kid thing. He was quiet once again when we came back to the hotel.

God has truly opened our eyes to how beautiful adoption really is. I mean he already had  but now... wow!!! There were screaming babies all in that room, but you could see the beams shining off every single parent as they were holding their child. It was truly a beautiful moment. Time seemed to have stood still for a moment when Reece walked in that room. My eyes locked on him and I melted. God showed his love and mercy full force. Words can't quite say the feeling.

We are blessed to now have 5 beautiful children. Wow!!

WE ARE HERE!

We finally made it in! Whoooo HOOOO! Man, that was a long long long way to go. First flight out of b'ham to Atlanta. Most of you know I've never been on a plane. As  soon as the thing starts backing up.. I'm looking forward and the dizzy starts in. OH NO! I feel my stomach turning. The last thing I really want to do is barf on this little plane. NO idea what to expect, panic sinks in a bit... not only am I nauseated at the point, i'm scared. I had to sit there squeezing poor Wes' hand while I tried not to make noise while I cried like a baby. I knew there was a reason I didn't fly. Once we got in the air, I was fine.. then we had to descend.. here comes the dizzy again. Needless to say, by time it was time to board for the big plane, I was nervous. HOWEVER, I only had a couple dizzy moments and I just looked out the window. All was good!!  :)

Stuff we've experienced so far:  for some reason they served us dinner at breakfast time on the plane, then served breakfast for dinner.. though it was strange... then again this morning on the way to China from Korea, they serve us dinner again and it's like 8:30 in the morning. ODD

Listening to the sweet girls on the Korean Air flights talk in English was fun. We'd have to ask them a few times what they were asking and then just going with part of what we understood.  They WERE very friendly to everyone. Very well put together. Korean has a great thing going.

Coffee shop in Korea airport had the best white mocha coffee I've ever had!

The traffic is horrific!! Imagine if you will... 3 lanes of traffic.. very busy and I mean VERY busy... now you have your 3 lanes but people decide to make up 2 more lanes on their own. Yes! You can probably stick your tongue out the window and touch them, they are that close. If that's not bad enough, they are weaving in and out of each other and cutting each other off! I thought for sure we were gonna get hit. Our van driver was a little nutty with the driving and people just honking like crazy.

When people have weddings, they tie red ribbons to the mirrors on their cars, the groom and bride have big pink bow and on front a big flower wreath. We saw that on the way in. Very cool.

In the hotel, to turn on the lights, you have to put your room key in a slot in box on wall... the guy kinda looked at us weird when we asked. (guess we should know that)

The knobs in the bathroom.. you push down to turn on not up like in US.

Wes and I both ate some type of fish (we think) maybe salmon in a salad thing this morning with our breakfast.. I mean dinner ?  Couldn't identify but it wasn't bad. We chose not to question it.

TIME TO GO MEET REECE

We are finally at that moment!! We have 3 1/2 hours before we leave to meet Reece! I'm so stinking excited but also a little on the nervous side. Please continue to pray for us. Will post our pictures as soon as we can this evening. I seem to be posting more on facebook than on our blog. It's easier for me I guess. :)  Love you all.. will update as soon as I can.