7 Weeks Home

Wow, I can't believe we've been home for 7 weeks already. China seems like a distant memory, and it feels like Aiden has always been here. He is doing fantastic. We've been extremely busy as you can imagine, and I'm hoping this will be the first week since we've been home that we won't visit a doctor's office (keeping fingers and toes crossed). The eye doctor has been the most visited office as we discovered that Cambrie is far-sighted like her older brother, and now has glasses. Kyle finally convinced the doctor that he was mature enough for contacts, and has done really well with them. Aiden and Cambrie have had well visits, and all three have had random visits for other ailments. But to top it off, Aiden had his first visit to the ER. He gashed his head open on the kitchen counter while trying to dive out of Eddie's arms. I was at work, so my brother and sister-in-law accompanied them to get it glued back together. I think it took 10 years off Eddie's life though, as there was a lot of blood, and he doesn't handle that well. We've begun our referrals for Aiden at Vanderbilt. The first was to a urologist to schedule a circumcision. Our pediatrician recommended getting this done as soon as possible so that he hopefully won't remember it. The urologist was great to offer and piggy-back the procedure with whatever oral surgery will likely take place in the near future, so that Aiden will only have to be put under once. We see the plastic surgeon next week to check on his lip/palate, then the oral surgeon in December about his teeth. Bless his heart, they are in awful shape, so I'm confident we will be doing something about them soon. So, basically I'm considering renting an apartment in downtown Nashville to save on time and gas with all this commuting we are doing. Ha! Medical news aside, we have been busy with lots of fun activities. Cambrie and Kyle finished up their soccer seasons last weekend. Our neighborhood had a pumpkin carve event, complete with bobbing for apples, donut on a string contest, and lots of prizes. Aiden absolutely loved this. That evening our neighborhood had their trick-or-treating, so we were able to participate this year. Our tradition is to celebrate at my brother's house, and this year we got to do both. Aiden does not care for costumes in general, but fell in love with an Elmo costume in Target. So he carried it around like a stuffed animal for 2 weeks before Halloween, and then was content to have it on that night. I took the kids to the zoo on their fall break. Aiden wasn't too sure about some of the animals. He was ok as long as they didn't move or make noise, which worked well for the most part. He was cautious in the petting zoo, but eventually came around and brushed a few of the goats. We celebrated Cambrie's 6th birthday on the 24th with her first "friend" party at the bowling alley. This place also has bumper cars and video games, so it was a big hit. We also celebrated her "gotcha" day on Halloween. Can't believe it was 5 years ago that we were given that little 13 lb peanut. What a blessing she has been to us. We are gearing up for the holidays, as they will be here before we know it. Looking forward to having our whole family together this year, and celebrating our many blessings. That's all the news for now. I uploaded some pictures in a different post from the last few weeks.

Kelly

First Week

Well, we have been home a week tomorrow, but it feels like months since we were in China. Aiden is doing fantastic. He basically walks around like he owns the place, and we let him of course. We did have to make a trip to the doctor on Monday because he had been running a fever, and found out he had pneumonia. So we started antibiotics and he's been fever free since Monday. I had to go back to work on Monday and let me tell you it was brutal. I was light headed and nauseated most of the day. Tuesday was better, but I was so tired. Thankfully Eddie has had this whole week off, so he has been getting up with Aiden at night so I can rest up for work. Today I have felt mostly normal, so it only took about a week. Don't know when Aiden will get in a sleeping pattern. He goes to bed well, but is still waking up during the night. He loves being with his brother and sister. He cries when they get out of the car at school in the morning, and is so excited when we pick them up in the afternoon. He has enjoyed meeting all of Kyle's classmates this week at school. He is quite the celebrity there. I think Kyle and Cambrie were happy to be back at school with their friends. They have adjusted quickly from the trip. Ah to be a child again. It's good to be home again, but we really had a great trip. God just couldn't have blessed us any more. Our adoption experience this time around was so positive and awesome. A lot of that is attributed to how laid back Aiden is, but I think some of it is related to feeling more comfortable with the process, and being better prepared for "bumps" in the road. I'm so glad we did this as a family, and I cannot imagine this trip without our older kids. They were just so great on this trip, especially considering how much time we spent doing adoption related tasks where they had to just sit and be patient. I'm happy they had the opportunity to experience a different culture, and witness how hard life can be without all the "luxuries" we have here in the USA. It was quite an eye opening experience for Kyle especially, and I hope it has permanently touched his heart. Visiting Starfish was one of the highlights of my trip, and I'm truly in awe of what these people do on a daily basis for these children. We wanted to sneak a few of the babies home with us. And to think these are the "lucky" ones because they are receiving great care and love in this home. There are millions more in orphanges all over the world (not just in China) that don't even cry because they have learned that nobody will respond. It makes my struggles seem pretty insignificant. Well, enough of my soapbox speech. I'll try to get some photos on here soon. Thanks again for all of you who covered us in prayer throughout this journey. They were certainly felt by us, and we feel incredibly blessed.

Kelly

Final Post

Wanted to update quickly and let you know that we have a shortcut to our new website, so it's easier to find. Finishing up packing, and starting to feel like it's really happening.

aidenthomasrogers.com


Kelly

New Website for Travel

Since we have been told that blogger is blocked in China, and I'm not sure that the program I have will actually get around that block, I decided to set up an alternate site for our trip. You can access it at babyjellybeans.com then go to search for a website and type in Aiden Rogers. This was our lifeline for our first adoption, and I don't want to feel alienated from friends and family at home. We leave in about 40hrs, not that I'm counting.

Kelly

Insomnia and Packing Strategies

Well, only 6 more sleeps until we leave for China! At least I hope we sleep. Last night was restless for me, and for those of you who know me well, that is not typical. I have slept through many smoke and fire alarms in my life. I have begun the arduous task of packing, weighing, unpacking, and then packing again. Our in country flights only allow 44 lbs per traveler, and since I'm packing for 5 people, I'm having to be creative. Basically pack everything heavy in our carry-ons, and air in the checked luggage. That way we can get a complete workout hauling the carry-on luggage through at least 2 airports before we arrive in China. After all, we will be sitting for something like 19 hours straight, so we need to burn some calories, right?! I'm probably over-packing, as I'm known to do, but it's not clothes this time. I'm trying to pack as much "America-friendly" food as I can, since I have a 5yr old and 10yr old who will turn up their nose to anything that doesn't look familiar. This 40yr old has a tendancy to do the same, so EasyMac and Quaker oatmeal are my 2 new favorite foods. When we return, I will never eat them again. We are happy, anxious, excited, nervous, panicked, and stressed (not necessarily in that order). I admit to having a few of those "what in the world are we doing" moments in the last few days. Thankfully good friends and a patient husband have calmed those fears, and reminded me of that sweet little reward waiting for us in Xi'an. We've heard so many reports about his great personality and sweet spirit from those who have visited Starfish. We can't wait to discover these traits for ourselves. So for now, we ask that you pray for our sanity as we prepare for travel. Pray that we can focus our attention on the One who called us to this great adventure in the first place. Thanks!

Kelly

Travel Approval and Dates

Yeah!!!! We finally received our travel approval on Friday, and got concrete travel dates this morning. We will leave for China on Thursday, September 2nd and return home on Saturday, September 18th. I waited to post about the travel approval until we had the consulate date secured. I don't think I could have handled that disappointment, and I know I couldn't have typed it. Thankfully I won't have to do that. We are very excited and a little stressed about leaving in 2 & 1/2 weeks, but I would get on the plane tomorrow if I could. We covet your prayers for our safety in travel, as well as for Aiden's adjustment to his new family. We know God has carried us to this point, and he will see us through. We are thankful! This picture is from Taylor who found us on a yahoo group, and graciously sent us some pictures of our little guy from when she was at Starfish last month. Thanks Taylor!

Kelly