Summer fun

July, Parties & Nana

Wow, time flies! I guess it has been over a month since we last posted anything. So here are just a few pics in no particular order of the last month and all that has gone on. Em had her birthday and turned 4 already! Hard to believe where all the years have gone. Nana came over and stayed for a few weeks, so all the kids loved hanging out with their Nana again and are sad that she has gone home already. But they are looking forward to her return this winter. Nana was even brave enough to watch all the kids for a week while we went childless to Thailand for a week! That was quite refreshing! Although, it was nice to get back home and be with the family again!




Little A is excited about Zac's birthday gift, even if he is a little unsure!


Hard to believe our city has a Papa John's but no McDonald's! To celebrate Nana's arrival, we all went to PJ's!





















Playing London Bridge with Nana!



He looks like he is having fun, right?

She's TWO!

The b-day girl. She's sweet, funny, spunky, strong and smart! She loves books, baths, airplanes, rice, noodles, vegetables, flashlights, and shoes. One her favorite things to do is to make other people laugh. We love everything about her, and are so glad God entrusted her to us. :)










It can be hard (at times) for 4 siblings to share Daddy. But who says you have to?



So, now the kids are 3, 2, 2, and 1. And they are enjoying each other very much. Adopting 2 at once was really a great way to go for us.

Questions locals often ask us about our kids....

Are those two (Aubrey and Zac) twins? (They are only 3 weeks apart, but these people are looking at the two of them when they ask this.....)

When they are older, will you tell the black kids they were adopted?

They sleep in a bed by themselves?!!!!

Which of the 4 is your favorite?

Are those curls natural?

The Africans can speak Chinese??! (when Z says "Mama")

So, you adopted so you could have a son, since you are only able to bear girls?

You take care of all of them by yourselves? (In their minds, taking care of more than one kid is impossible, or at least crazy.)

All these questions amuse us greatly, and Scott has come up with some great answers (as those of you who know him can imagine). The random questions are as common as they are amusing. We've chalked it up to lack of observation about genetic-outworking of skin colors in a land where everyone has exactly the same skin pigment.

Lots of fun, and starting to be.... normal.

"the finest tend to be sourced from dairy cows"

So today we went for our mandatory physical exam at the local health department which is a requirement for renewing our visa. (as in 'permission to live here', not 'plastic money'.)

They take photos, take blood, take x-rays, take ECGs, test for color-blindness, etc, etc. I guess it would be silly to let someone live here if they were color-blind? Anyways, the whole gamut of testing goes on and on. One of them is ultrasound. Yes.... goop, wand, abdomen, ultrasound.

In the ultrasound the technician informed me that I have a 7mm gallstone.

Upon arriving home, I had to google my newfound medical condition.

Here's what wikipedia says.....


Gallstones are a valuable by-product of meat processing, fetching up to US$10–per–gram in their use as a purported antipyretic and antidote in the folk remedies of some cultures, in particular, in China. The finest gallstones tend to be sourced from old dairy cows, which are called (yellow thing of oxen) in Chinese. Those obtained from dogs, called Gou-Bao (treasure of dogs) in Chinese, are also used today. Much as in the manner of diamond mines, slaughterhouses carefully scrutinize offal department workers for gallstone theft.[19]


Valuable.

We went to our friend's house for the day. Having a meal together turned into spending 8 hours together. :) He invited his friends and relatives to come over too.
Our kids got served all kinds of interesting foods. It was noisy and wild, but at least they kept giving our kids candy.



This little friend was only a few weeks older than Emily, so they really enjoyed playing together. Emily is coming right along with this language!



Eliana says there's no need to learn to walk. This is the life.







The very picture of adoration! :)

Zac's B-day Party

Zac turned 2 today!! He wasn't quite sure what to make of all the attention. About a dozen friends came over, and brought him everything from puzzles to diapers. :)




Sporting our family's traditional birthday hat, and feeling a little uncertain about all the people staring at him, we couldn't get a smile.



We tried to demonstrate how to blow out candles, but the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to try it. So we helped out. The 3 year old sister and the one year old sisters were curious onlookers. Their turn next month!



A big piece of cake and 4 cups of milk later, he's quite happy. Isn't he adorable?