News article

Hi! Our paper did an article on our adoption. Here is the link if you'd like to check it out.

http://www.spangdahlem.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123104561

Random Pictures

Caleb in his last game of the season. He caught for most of the season and loved it. He has always caught or pitched. This year he loved catching. He's been in Italy all with beach break. He comes home early tomorrow morning.

Big brother and little sister. Joshua loves Sarah so much. He's such a good big brother.

Look! I can throw kisses. Can you catch them?

Pretty girl in a pretty dress!

Everyone is trying to teach Sarah to walk. Everyone, except mom that is. Once she's mobile, there's no turning back!

I had Sarah back to the doctor this week. They did a chest x-ray and put her on antibiotics. They also did an ultrasound of her liver. They know something has calcified, they just aren't sure what. So, they are sending us to Trier for an MRI. The doctor assured me that he was not worried and neither should I. I trust him very much with our children, so I'm not worried.

I should be getting the stick soon for our high speed internet. I can't wait. It will be nice to not have a phone cord spread across the floor.

I'm having a garage sale with a friend tomorrow. Another friend of mine has helped me to some major cleaning out. It feels so good to get rid of unneeded junk!

Caleb should be on his way home from Italy. Please pray for safe travels. It's a 15-17 hour bus ride from Italy. I'm sure he had a great time. He's always wanted to go to Italy, so I'm glad he got the chance. And he got to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I sent him with two disposable cameras. I can't wait to see his pictures.

Forgot about the Phone

I forgot to mention that the phone came back on yesterday morning. We're not sure what happened, but we could make phone calls yesterday morning. I did go and order the stick for the new high speed, WIRELESS internet. I can't wait. It still makes no sense to me that I can't get high speed through my landline phone, but since I get such good reception on my CELL phone, I can get high speed. Go figure!

Degrees and Doctor Appointments

Allen got good news today. He found out that all of his classes have transfered and his degree is complete from the Community College of the Air Force. This is an Associate Degree in Applied Science. We are both officially college graduates.

I have to tell you all about my morning. My friend, Julie, has volunteered to help me clean out my house. We started with Sarah's room. Today we did mine. All the clutter is GONE!!! Our room is so clean. My friend, Jeanne, also came over to help. I got rid of a bag full of clothes and another full of shoes. Underneath our bed is completely empty, except for a box with blankets. Did I mention that all the clutter is GONE???? I love it! The next room is my "junk" room. It used to be the computer room, but now the computer is in the living room. My craft table and sewing maching are still in there. It feels so good to get rid of all this unneeded stuff.

I took Sarah to the doctor yesterday and today. Yesterday the doctor was hurried and didn't really listen to her. He gave me a breathing treatment for her and sent me on my way. Well, since I've never had a child with asthma before, I had no idea how to use it. So my friend, Julie had to come down and show me how to use it. So, today I called pediatrics to have her seen by the doctor that normally sees her. He listened quite a while and decided to do a chest x-ray. From this he decided to put her on antibiotics. But there was something else on the chest x-ray. It looked like a calcium deposit on her liver. So we went back to radiology for an ultrasound. The doctor is reviewing the ultrasound.

Sarah's labs all came back good. She's not HIV-positive, she doesn't have Hep-B, her lead levels are a little high, but we expected that. They are actually lower than anticipated. We'll start her immunizations at her next well-baby, which will be in August.

I know you all want to see pictures. I will try and get some posted tomorrow. For now, I'm off to my wonderfully clean room to watch a movie.

Going Crazy with no PHONE!!!

I'm not sure what is going on, but we haven't had phone or internet access for a few days now. I'm at the library right now. You don't realize how much you rely on these things until they are not available. The good thing is that we can still receive phone calls and I have my cell phone to make calls from if I need to. I did also find out that even though we can't receive high speed internet through our landline phone, I can get it through our cell phones. Basically it's a memory stick that goes into our laptop. As long as I have a good signal on my cell phone, I have internet access. Looks like I will be signing up for that tomorrow. Plus, we will now have unlimited service. The place where we signed up for phone service has called Deutsch Telecom twice and they keep saying there is nothing wrong with the line outside the house. If they come out (over $75 just to come out) and they find it's something with our equipment, then we have to pay for them coming out. UUGGGHHHHH!!! I just want my phone back!!!

More pictures - Finally!

Tired girl!

Big brother helping little sister learn to walk!

Big brother loves his little sister!

Caleb and Bryce - friends for four years!

What a difference a day makes! Today Sarah started trying to walk if we hold her hands. I don't think it will be too much longer before she'll be holding on to things and getting more mobile. She has also discovered that she can scoot herself across the floor in sitting position to get to where she wants to be. I think she's progressing normally, she just needs a little more time to catch up.

Caleb has said good-bye to two of his friends this year that he's been friends with since we've been here. One left in January and the boy in the picture above leaves tomorrow. The three of them played baseball together every year since we got here. I know next year will be very different for Caleb since they will both be gone. Guess we'll have to look into the MySpace thing so he can keep in touch with them. Notice I said we'll look into it? It's not a done deal yet.

Today may have been Father's Day, but it sure didn't feel like it this evening. We even have a fire in the fireplace. Tomorrow I have to go through Sarah's clothes and see what warm weather pj's she has. I may have to order her a pair of fleece pj's from Land's End. They are the only ones who have warm weather clothes in the middle of summer.

Sarah has been a United States Citizen for one month. Isn't that amazing? I would love to have the weather that we had a month ago. I loved the warm weather in Hawaii. I can't wait to have 4 seasons again, or at least a summer that lasts longer than 2 weeks.

Happy Father's Day!

Allen and his four kids!

Our family photo!

We just want to wish our fathers, my brother, our brother-in-laws, and all our special friends who are fathers a Happy Father's Day! As you can see from the pictures, the boys and Sarah are growing like weeds. On Mother's Day we were in China, so it was nice to be home today for the kids to be with their dad.

Time Goes By

Sarah and Mia! Mia is the daughter of our dear friends, Mark and Julie. We met them while we were still paperchasing and Mia was almost 2 years old. It has been so wonderful having them as friends. We are so sad that they are soon moving on to their next base. It is so wonderful that we have our daughters from China and our Christian faith as our common bond. I have no doubt that we will remain friends for a long time.

Is it really possible that one month ago today we boarded a plane and left the country of our daughter's birth? It just does not seem like it. We have loved every minute of having her in our lives. It's like she was meant to be with us, which we know is true. Every minute of the long wait was worth it just for her.

I love that we have so many "firsts" to still experience. Today for the first time, Sarah gave me kisses. My heart was overflowing. This child who was born of my heart has stolen it forever. I can't imagine not having her here.

I do have pictures to post, I just need to download them. Right now though, I'm trying to rearrange the living room. Allen isn't home, so he is going to love seeing the mess I've created. The only thing I can't move is the TV and everything in the stand.

Happy Birthday, Allen!

Today is Allen's birthday! He's the big 40!!! The boys and I (oops! I mean the kids and I) and taking him out to lunch. And then he has requested steak and fried potatoes for dinner. Two more years and he will be able to celebrate with his sister again, who he has the same birthdate as. Oh by the way, Happy Birthday, Dawn! Sorry your card will be late!

Caleb played in their tournament game last night. They didn't win, but he had a great game. He scored 2 of their 6 runs. He got up to bat twice and got one hit and a walk. He was so frustrated because he had such a good game. We kept telling him that baseball is not an individual sport though. I know he is ready to get back to the States so that he can play high school baseball.

Blog access

Sorry if you had trouble getting access to the blog. I decided that maybe it would be best to limit who was reading about our lives. You can never be too careful now days. I will try to get some more pictures added soon.

Caleb has his first tournament game tomorrow. If they win, we will go back down to Ramstein on Thursday, which is also Allen's 40th birthday. We just want the boys to do their best.

The weather has been great - warm and sunny - just like I like it. It reminds me of Hawaii just without the beach and Lynne. I miss you guys!

Blessings to all,
Dawn

Sarah and the boys!

Sarah and her big brothers!

Pretty girl with a pretty smile!

Julie and Sarah

We have to keep the door closed or Garfield will get in Sarah's bed.

Daddy's girl!

I know these pictures have been a long time coming. We have been extremely busy with school and baseball. We are almost done with both. The boys' last regular season games are tomorrow. Caleb has a tournament next week. School ends for the boys on the 12th (Allen's 40th birthday!!).

Dr. Appointment today

After today, it is safe to say that Sarah does not like going to the doctor. Just listening to her heart and looking in her ears had her screaming at the top of her lungs (which work just fine by the way). Her appointment was to get her command sponsored on Allen's orders. He confirmed what we already suspected. She's delayed in her gross motor skills (crawling, walking, etc.). She's also delayed in two other areas. He's going to refer her to the early developmental intervention specialist to help with this. Since we had such a lovely time in his office, we are going to wait until Monday to have her blood work drawn. After that comes back, then we will start her immunizations.

One month ago today, Sarah's adoption was finalized in the eyes of the Chinese government. This month has gone by so fast. We have enjoyed her so much. She's such a doll.

Finally - Pictures!

Lynne and Dawn before leaving Hawaii

Lynne and Sarah

Sarah, Mommy and her grandparents

Getting fed by grandpa

Allen got home safe and sound. Sarah and I picked him up at the train station. She was happy to see her daddy, as were the boys and I.

We had a busy day again yesterday. The boys all had baseball games. Caleb had two games. First was Daniel's game. He got one hit. Caleb had the next game. They didn't win, but it's only their second loss. It was a close game: 2-1. Caleb caught the whole game. He got one out between third and home and threw another one out at third. Joshua had the third game. He did a great job pitching. He got several strike outs. Caleb had the last game. It was against the team from Luxembourg. The come just to play and have fun so it doesn't count towards anything. They are a great group of kids. Caleb got a true in the park home run. He hit that ball and it was gone.

I have pictures of all four of the kids. I just need to get them downloaded. I'm still trying to get the house back in order. It may take a while I think.