17 years!

Scott and I got married 17 years ago yesterday. It is funny to think back what we imagined our life would look like. We thought we would have a few tweenagers now. We thought we would still be in the south. I thought I would be an elementary school teacher and Scott was going to be a psychologist. 

We never imagined that we would have 4 kids so close in age. We never imagined we would move to NY. We never imagined where God would lead. 

For our 10th anniversary I was finally pregnant with Noah. 

For our 12th Aiden was on the way. 

For our 15th we got the call about Claire. 

For our 16th we were beginning the process for Alex. 

For our 17th.......

We are going on a hike together :D. Ha! Those who know us well know we love the outdoors. Up here there is so much to do, much of which is too hard for the kids. So we would rather go hiking than to eat at a fancy resteraunt. We plan to go tomorrow if it is not pouring rain. 

Here we are right after we said "I Do"

Here we are 17 years later! 

Summer is almost over

It has been dropping into the 50's at night here. In August.  So weird. In Savannah it is still in the upper 90's.  We are gearing up for fall. 

I know I have not blogged in a while. I have started several posts, and have more swirling around in my head, but they aren't coherent yet. 

So for now I will tell you what we have been doing this summer. We go out for soft serve ice cream. Up here there are little stands everywhere and it is pretty cheap! All 6 of us can get a treat for about 15 bucks. They have new favors every week- so far my favorites are lemon and coffee (not mixed together!)  Noah always gets chocolate, Alex likes most of them, Aiden's favorite is strawberry or raspberry, and Claire's favorite has been raspberry because it is purple(ish).  

Our summer nanny was wonderful! She did so much with the kids this summer, and they loved it! Thankfully she has promised to come visit or babysit when she comes home on her breaks.  She heads back to college, so our new one starts Wednesday. 

We are mostly all set for homeschooling. All I need are some old national geographic magazines- just have to get to eBay. We will probably start right around Labor Day. The kids are excited, I am a bit nervous about juggling everything. 

We have done some hiking. Not as much as I would like as work and chores seem to get in the way. We have caught lightening bugs. We watch the wildlife in our yard. We have a family with baby turkeys, and a bunny that we see pretty often. We have not seen the deer recently, but I bet they will be back when it cools off.  I will post a bunch of pics of the leaves changing. 

Here is how lush our woods are now. Wait until it changes! We can't wait to show Alex snow. He has never seen it! 

Jumping in with both feet

I really hope we don't drown!! We have decided to homeschool next year. Yep we are crazy apparently, but those who know us knew that already;). Yep I will still be working. 

It was a hard decision. We have always wanted to homeschool, but did not think we could if I was working. After some developments with the school system here in NY we feel we really need to start now. 

So what else is going on? I will be volunteering with No Hands But Ours as the lead mentor mom for the infectious special need section. I am working on getting a foster/orphan care ministry started at church. Did I mention that its a church plant that Scott and I are involved with? We will be busy- but it is a good busy! 

The kids are great. They are enjoying summer. Our fill in nanny is wonderful. The kids miss Tracey. We will need to find one for after summer, as our fill in goes to college out of town. 

Alex's first birthday with us is next week. Shhh- don't tell him but I think we are getting him a bike and may take him to a water park. He loves to yo-yo (swim).  Scott and I took the day off work since it is a Wednesday. 

I will try to do better about blogging!! 

11,000

In 1992, CCAI began in the founders' basement. Josh and Lily began helping to find families for orphans in China. On Tuesday, the 11,000th child will be adopted into the CCAI family.  So many children who have found their families. It is an amazing thing. I don't blog much about CCAI, but they are great. I can call and ask anything. As busy as they are, we got a phone call from Josh checking on Alex and on us a few weeks ago. They really care about these kids. Josh has an amazing heart- in one blog post he wrote, he said he prays he is out of a job soon because that would mean all the kids have families. 

Here are my two of 11,000.

Claire YuTing, adoption day 1-22-13.

Alexander ChenTing, adoption day 4-15-14.

11,000 chidren. That is so many. Yet so many more wait for families. China says there are 576,000 children in their system. Outside sources guess that there are actually closer to one million. A million children who have no family. A million children with an uncertain future. 98%of children abandoned in China now have medical needs. Boys and girls are equally abandoned. So many children wait. Such a horrible decision the parents must make to save their child's life. Medical care in China is very costly, and inaccessible in poorer areas. 

If you want to help orphans in China, or have questions about adoption- let me know. All of the medical needs are not scary and many are easily managed. 

11,000 have found families with CCAI's help. There just aren't words to express my feelings. 

First week home!!

This week has flown by! Last week Brandi, Alex, and I were up in the skies headed home. He did great on the flights and actually only slept for 3 hours total. He slept for 2 hours on the flight from Beijing to Detroit and then slept the whole flight to Albany.   We got in to the airport so late Scott and Noah met us. A friend came to take some pics and I am thankful. 

This week has also been a whirlwind of appointments. Alex saw our pediatrician, and Claire had dental surgery. We have had meals brought by our church family which has been a lifesaver. 

Here is our first puc as a family of 6!! This was at the kickoff service of the church plant we are helping with last night. Here are a few other pics from the week. 

Top 10 moments in China!!!

1. Alex becoming part of our family and how wonderful he is doing. 

2. Brandi giving Alex his first jello shot. Ok it really wasn't a jello shot. It was berry jello that had probably a splash of wine in it. The jello shot makes a funnier story;)

3. Alex's first popsicle. He did not understand that it would melt and tried to save it for later.

4. Being very sleep deprived and giggling for an hour with Brandi about cake wrecks. 

5. Seeing our guide Kathy moved to tears at Alex's first medical appointment. 

6. All the food. Seriously love the food in China. Did you see all of our FB food posts??!!??

7. Seeing our guide David determined to help the kids left behind at Alex's foster home. 

8. To pass the time we succummed to beyblade and nerf wars, watching dumb you tube videos, watching kids movies, walking to 7-11 a million times, drank free  coffee at the hotel but bought a dozen starbucks mugs (did not actually buy a single cup of coffee at starbucks), spied on the playground to see when other families were outside and practiced our Chinese. 

9. Learning cool things about Alex like he loves fruit and bubblegum, and is not really fond of rice. 

10.  Every time we tried to practice our Chinese at a resteraunt we got the server who spoke english. Yep- asked for no ice at McDonald's in Chinese and the girl said ok no ice in English. Same at Lucy's :)

11.  Getting Alex's visa and finally headed home!!!!!!!! (Bonus number!) 

Guangzhou Zoo

This morning we went to the zoo. It was fun. The male lions were talking to each other (they were in seperate enclosures). 

Alex is year of the pig:)

The peacock was trying to scare off a miniture deer. The deer was not impressed.  I am year of the snake. 

Alex on a dragon.