Forget Regret

Well hello 2012

2012-01-15T19:11:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year Everybody! Since we last met, we have had a very winter. Aidan and Cian both had birthdays. We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving at home in many years and celebrated a wonderful Christmas! Time seems to fly by this time of year. Our New Year's Eve celebration was another one for the record books and the kids had a blast.

We are now knee deep in basketball for Aidan and Cian. Fintan and Maeve are excellent fans (sometimes!) and for the most part do a great job of traveling all over the city to watch their big brothers.

Maeve had a recent trip to St. Louis to see her hand surgeon and he has cleared her for another year! All is looking good!

Here are some recent pics from NYE...

Are you ready for some football?!

2011-10-02T20:22:00.002-06:00

Aidan and Cian are both playing football this fall. They are both loving it. Cian didn't have any schoolmates playing so we signed him up as a free agent. He got assigned to a team and they have been very welcoming to him. Aidan's team moved into tackle this year and something went wrong with the other teams in the league (not really sure?) so they have only had one game so far. I think he has three this week, so he will be back on track soon.

Birthdays

2011-10-02T20:13:00.002-06:00

We've celebrated a couple birthdays since my last appearance. Fintan turned 6 and Maeve turned 4. Fintan had his first "friends" party this year and decided to go with a pirate theme. He had a great time. Maeve's party was low key and just involved some family members and was a bit last minute. It worked out perfectly and she had a great time.

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It's Over

2011-08-17T09:45:00.002-06:00

Summer break that is. Yesterday came bright and early as all four kids made their way to school for a new year. It should be a good one!

Summer 2011

2011-08-04T13:12:00.010-06:00

We've had a great (and fast) summer! The lazy days are quickly coming to an end as school starts again in two weeks. It seems like baseball (finally!) ends and then it is a mad dash to vacation and enjoying some free time. We just returned from another awesome trip to Hilton Head Island. It was heavenly!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T11:39:00.003-06:00

Happy Easter. We had an awesome Easter weekend. We had family in town and enjoyed a great dinner on Good Friday with cousins. The kids had a blast. Saturday was spent lounging and spending some time at the batting cages for Aidan and Cian. That night we attended the Easter Vigil mass. It was great! Susie joined the Catholic faith and lots of our family and friends were on hand to welcome her! It really was a special night.
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Easter Sunday started with baskets and egg hunts around the house. The Easter Bunny took the easy way out this year and hid all the eggs inside. After a morning of leisure, we headed to my aunt's house for dinner. We had a blast and the kids think Aunt Linda's house is the greatest (I think so too!).

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I had trouble getting a decent picture with all four kids, but for some reason the pictures with only three of them turned out pretty good!

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The egg hunt had a twist this year. Half the eggs were filled with confetti. If you grabbed a confetti egg, then you could "smoosh" it on another person. If an adult got smooshed, they were in the game and could retaliate on the kids. It was a great idea and we had a blast.

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Papa getting revenge on Aidan.

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Aidan returning the love to Cian.

The weather was perfect and all was right in the world for one day! Just as Easter should be!

Sizzling Southwest

2011-03-23T13:21:00.004-06:00

We just returned from an amazing Spring Break trip to Arizona. We had a great time hanging at the pool, hiking, riding trains, seeing the Grand Canyon and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa!
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Our first night's dinner watching the desert sunset!
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Hiking in Cave Creek Park. The kids did great...very little complaints and they lasted 2 hours!
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St. Patrick's Day in Sedona!!
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The amazing Grand Canyon. It cannot be represented in photos! I was surprisingly nervous standing on the rim. Some of the ledges do not have railings, so traveling with little ones kept my heart racing! Thankfully we all made it home!

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Waiting for the Grand Canyon railway to pick us up.

How grand is that? We had a great time!!

Recitals

2011-03-23T13:17:00.001-06:00

Aidan and Cian recently had recitals. They both did a great job. They have come so far this past year in learning the violin. I love to watch them!
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Gotcha Day #2

2011-03-02T14:07:00.003-06:00

Wow, two years already!! We have been so blessed to have Maeve in our family and it is amazing how much she has changed over this time! She has grown and matured beyond her years. Two years ago today her world was rocked beyond belief as she was handed over to strangers. We had already fallen for her and stared at her pictures for months, but she had never seen us! I am in awe of her bravery to face the unknown and come out on top! God definitely has plans for this beautiful little girl!!
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This is the first photo we saw of Maeve. She stole our hearts immediately.
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To witness the change in her has been a true gift! She is such a happy, spunky, stubborn, playful, funny, opinionated and wonderful child.
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Maeve told me this is her princess dress.

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The smile that lights up a room.

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We love you Maeve! Happy Gotcha Day!!

I can see clearly now the...

2011-02-20T22:14:00.003-06:00

Snow is gone!!! Yippee. We have been enjoying some awesome early Spring weather! It is almost (almost) painful because I know it isn't going to last. It is so great to have the kids outside.

Maeve is doing really well and we had a check up in St. Louis last week. She has progressed out of the cast and into a more manageable splint. It comes off and she can get her hand wet now. Her hand has lots of healing left to do and the bones haven't healed yet, so she still has two exposed pins. They don't seem to bother her, which is great. Hopefully these will be removed in two weeks when she returns for another follow up.

Modeling her new splint.

Aidan's basketball team has had a rough season! They are playing in a much more competitive league and are struggling to keep up. I think it is more painful for the parents though, because the boys are having a great time.

Fintan is doing great. He took a spill in the front yard and is happily showing everyone his injured elbow. We had to change the dressing today and it was really funny watching Maeve sit next to Fintan, comforting him. She kept saying, "It's okay Tintin."

Cian's basketball team has come a long way this season for new beginners. It has been cool to watch the boys learn new skills and catch onto the rules. One more game and the season is over.

Trapped

2011-02-05T09:20:00.002-06:00

This winter is gettin' old, real fast! We received a dump of 12 inches of snow this past week. Most of the city shut down for Tuesday and Wednesday. It is so cold that you can't really enjoy the snow too much and we (I am) are ready for this cold weather to be over. I feel trapped easily and am desparately looking forward to summer. We have had a few things going on to keep us busy.
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Maeve is doing really well. Her "cast" is now falling off daily and we have to redress it. This was never told to us as an option, but we spoke with the surgeon's office yesterday and everything seems to be going well. One more week until we go back for an eval.
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Cian and Aidan had a father/son cake bake competition with cub scouts. It is supposed to be a joint effort, but looking at most of the cakes I think the dads in the pack did most of the work. In our house, it was done by the boys. Cian made a sponge B0b cake.
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Aidan did a beach and graciously allowed Fintan and Maeve to help him decorate.
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We have two new birds. It has been two weeks and they are both alive and doing well. This is Cian's bird, Oliver.
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This blue guys is Fintan's bird, Otto 2. He is not as friendly as Otto 1, so he hasn't been out as much. This may be a life-saving trait on his behalf.

A death in the family if you must know

2011-01-21T21:29:00.002-06:00

Otto (our new bird) died. Why can we not seem to keep a parakeet alive around here? This is our 4th bird! Two of them lasted about a year each, but two of them have lasted weeks to months. Otto is the shortest lived thus far. I was hoping the guinea pig would be the next animal to go as he is a pain in the you-know-what to take care of, but he seems to be doing great. Birds really are great pets (pretty to look at, easy to care for and apparently short lived) so I think we will get another one (or two) sometime. I don't understand why we appear to have bad luck with them. Fintan was devastated for about 15 minutes, but has moved on--clearly they were not as close as we thought!

Home

2011-01-19T17:14:00.002-06:00

Susie and Maeve (and my mom) made it home amidst the snowmaggedon we are experiencing here. Maeve is doing really well. She is a little dazy/confusey, but seems to be good. The boys are giving her lots of attention (you can see Cian sitting attentively by her side) and offering to get her anything she wants. I'm sure that will last a few hours, but we are enjoying it for now!

Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes. Thanks to Mimi for taking Susie and Maeve and hanging out!

In Recovery

2011-01-18T10:50:00.002-06:00

Maeve is out of surgery and in recovery. Susie is waiting to see her now. Everything went great! The physician was able to do everything he wanted (this morning he said he would just have to wait until he got in there to see what was possible.) He thinks we will be very happy with the results. Because so much was done, he thinks Maeve will spend the night tonight just to make sure her pain control is good. We will find out more this afternoon. It looks like we will need to go back next week for a cast/dressing change that they want to do in the OR (mainly for pain control reasons).

I am so relieved it went well. Now onto recovery and healing!

Say a little Prayer for you...

2011-01-17T20:06:00.002-06:00

Susie and Maeve left this afternoon for St. Louis. Maeve is having another surgery tomorrow on her left hand. This is a big one and will reposition some of her fingers and do some big bone changer-rama inside her hand (do you like my technical speak?). I am sure all will go well, but you know it is my job to worry about everything, so I am doing my job well tonight.

If you are thinking about it, say a little prayer for Maeve tomorrow around 7am. They should be starting then! I'll update tomorrow as I get more information on the surgery progress.

Cold

2011-01-16T09:02:00.002-06:00

It is freezing outside and I am not a winter person. Thankfully the kids seem to be winter people, so they are enjoying this misery! No school for a couple days last week and some good times sledding have left us with happy kids. Maeve is not loving the cold, but she seems to tolerate it. She prefers to stay inside though, where it is nice and warm. The pictures below are during our sledding trip after some of the snow had melted. The previous days were a little better.
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Maeve....this is the walk between our house and the car. This is about the longest period of time she wants to be outside.
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Cian making his way up the hill.
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Fintan- taking the shorter hills
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Aidan hits the steepest hills and loves it.

A New Year

2011-01-01T19:32:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! We rang in the new year in our usual fashion with family. It was more quiet this year than normal, but we still had a great time. The kids had a blast. They all made it to midnight and thankfully all slept in the morning. Fintan didn't wake up until 1100 today!

We are looking forward to 2011. A lot of crappy family illnesses happened in 2010 and we are hoping all of that is behind us this year. We were plenty ready to say goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.
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Maeve all decked out and ready to party.

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Some of the girls.

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Cian and Fintan getting ready for the count down.

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All the kids right before the ball drop.

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This is Otto. He is the newest member of our menagerie. He arrived via Santa on Christmas morning to the delight of Fintan. He has been a great pet so far and getting very used to handling as I think he has been in his cage for about 5 minutes over the past week.

Birthdays

2010-12-15T20:59:00.005-06:00

Aidan and Cian both had birthday's back in November. Aidan turned 9 and Cian turned 7. Cian had a bowling party and Aidan had a laser tag party. We have been having lots of trouble with our camera (and hoping Santa brings another one for Christmas!), but we just got it barely functioning again so I can post pictures.
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Cian happily opening gifts on the morning of the b-day.

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Waiting for the guests to arrive.
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Maeve's first bowling experience. We weren't even planning on her playing when one of the boys didn't show up. She loved it!
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Aidan, as usual, taking things seriously.
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Siblings and cousins take a break as they watch Maeve's ball S.L.O.W.L.Y roll down the lane. I think Maeve single handily added 45 minutes onto her lane's time.
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Getting ready to cut the cake.
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Sadly, this is the only picture I took at Aidan's party. I know--greatest parent in the world award is coming my way. I again blame the camera for breaking (I think) or the bad laser tag atmosphere for picture taking. Either way, you will have to take my word for it when I tell you he had a great time with a big smile on his face.

Recent pictures

2010-12-15T20:32:00.004-06:00

Here are some left over pictures from Thanksgiving (actually we just charged our camera, so we can post the pictures)
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The boys at Thanksgiving brunch.
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The girls looking gorgeous as ever!
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We went to see ICE! at the Gaylord Texan. It was themed after Charlie Brown this year. Very cold, but very cool.
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We got one semi-decent picture of the kids together. Thankfully we had our Christmas cards done this summer because this was not a good day for picture taking.
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Dave and Cian all bundled up for ICE!
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The kids in a sleigh. Maeve constantly looks like she is trying to escape.
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Some of the very cool sculptures.
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Aidan's class from his Christmas program last night.
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Cian's class from the program.
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What a sad day

2010-12-07T18:48:00.001-06:00

I didn't know Elizabeth Edwards or her family, but my heart goes out to them today. Such a loss for our world!

Halloween

2010-11-03T13:34:00.002-06:00

Another Halloween has come & gone and this was a great one. Perfect weather and fairly cooperative kids. We love Halloween around here and this year was no different. We decided not to host a houseful of guest this year for various reasons and it was nice to have a more low key night. The neighborhood shops once again hosted their trick or treat event so most of the candy in our house came from them. We did hit the rounds and made it about 3 blocks this year, which is our longest outing yet. Maeve actually participated just a little bit this year. She was more interested in eating the candy the.exact.moment.she.got.it. Not doing so caused a few tears, but I think she now gets the point that it is not a meal, so much as a treat.
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This year we had a scream character (Aidan), Woody (Cian), Batman (Fintan) and Jesse (Maeve). Our cousins- sailor girl, iron man and princess were also on hand to celebrate!

Our Toy St0ry crew.

Chiefs

2010-11-03T13:30:00.002-06:00

Aidan, Cian and I had the chance to go to the Chiefs' game this past Sunday with my dad, brother and niece. We had such a good time and what a great game. The boys love football (they seriously got nothin from me!) and even if you didn't love football, Chiefs' games are just fun. Unfortunately Aidan started not feeling well during the game (which resulted in 3 days of fever and vomiting, but that FUN is for another post!) and it was Halloween so we couldn't stay the whole time. We loved tailgating and everything red Sunday entails. Can't wait to go again!
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All decked out in our gear!

Cian's soccer

2010-11-03T13:22:00.003-06:00

I did a horrible job of getting pictures of Cian during this soccer season, so I had to cram them in on the last game. Unfortunately the game was a slaughter with Cian's team not on the winning side, but they played really well. He had such a great season and really enjoyed getting to know these boys. We are looking forward to the Spring league already.
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The Casts are Off (Before and After)

2010-10-27T17:26:00.005-06:00

Maeve has had her casts off for about a week and a half now and things are going pretty well. We have run the emotional roller coaster this past week regarding our decision to do this surgery. See, the to-do or not-to-do surgery for cleft feet is difficult to make as a parent. This is not a common defect in North America and little information has been published to support one decision over the other. Of the research that has been done, the recommendation is to close the clefts (as much as possible) prior to the child's 3rd birthday. The goal of the surgery is a little bit cosmetic and a little bit comfort. Maeve's function (walking, running, climbing, jumping etc) was perfect before the surgery. She did not need this procedure in order to improve any particular function. Her biggest issue was that her feet were very wide. Based on her x-rays and the way her clefts were formed, her feet would have continued to spread as she grew. There was already some shoe fitting issues (we had to buy a 1/2 size larger to fit her left foot) and her left foot really rubbed on the outer portion of the shoe. Eventually this would have caused some issues. As far as cosmetic, Maeve's feet are never going to look "normal" and we are okay with that. We love her feet and her hands and every other part of her just as we love the individuality of our boys. At the same time, we know growing up is going to be difficult for her at times. We will give her as much strength as we can, but also realize she will have to face some difficult questions and experiences. One goal of the surgery is to close the cleft a bit and give the foot a more "normal" appearance. Maeve's clefts were pretty deep and wide to the point that someone would be able to see the cleft if she were wearing certain (what I call "girly") shoes. Again- this was okay with us, but we wondered if this would be okay to Maeve. Our hopes for the surgery were that with some of the cleft closed, she would have a little more control over with whom and when she shared her feet.

We agonized back and forth over the decision to make for Maeve. It was difficult because we didn't want to *wait* and miss our window to do the surgery, but also didn't want to rush into something that wasn't right for Maeve. Then we made our trip to St. Louis and met Maeve's surgeon. He was wonderful and had experience with cleft feet. He was very encouraging about the outcome and really put our fears to rest. Obviously, we decided to move forward.

The surgery itself went well. They had to do more bone reconstruction than they were expecting, but hopefully it all prevents her from having to have any future surgeries. Originally when Maeve's casts were removed, Susie and I were taken aback. We knew her feet would not look *normal*, but we found ourselves staring at her feet thinking they looked exactly the same. Funny how not seeing something for 5.5 weeks allows you to forget. At the same time, Maeve was super tentative to walk or bear any weight on her feet. We somewhat expected this, but not to the extent that it occurred. Maeve was in lots of pain for a few days and moderate pain for about a week anytime she attempted to walk. She was back on narcotics for about 5 days. Of course in our minds we were thinking, "she will never walk again and we have forever changed her life!" Thankfully that was not the case and things have slowly returned to normal. Maeve is walking much better--almost pre-surgery-esque and starting to jump and slightly run. She is in zero pain and I think most of her previous pain was probably related to fear and sensitivity rather than actually bone pain.

As we get more used to her new feet, we are very happy with the results. Her feet are actually straight and slide right into shoes. No more squeezing and cramming. She could probably use an entire size smaller in her shoes. She still has clefts in her feet, but they are much smaller and the bases (or rear) of her feet are normal. I think she will be happy with the decision we made.

The important message we would like to get out about this "special need" is that it is completely manageable. The decision to pursue surgery is each individual parent's to make. At one point we were talking with our adoption agency and the rep told us that only one other family has even considered a child with cleft feet since Maeve. They can't get perspective parents to even look at the children's files. I don't get it. This is so easy (really it is!). Aside from this surgery, we don't even think about Maeve's differences. She is such an amazing child and I am so thankful our lives were matched. I hope someone else is out there and maybe reading this post, considering a child with cleft hands and feet. DO IT!
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Pre surgery.

Post surgery.

Some updates

2010-10-27T11:53:00.006-06:00

We have had quite the Fall around here and I haven't had much of any time to jot down on the activities. Aidan and Cian have been playing football (A) and soccer (C). Both are wrapping up right now and they both have had great seasons. Aidan has scored two touch downs, but more importantly he has LOVED every minute of this sport. Cian scored a goal at his last soccer game (no pictures...sad) and he was thrilled. Both boys have also made some unfortunate trips to the ER. Cian fell into a wall (maybe was pushed by a brother, but surely it was by accident!) and became the proud recipient of two staples in his head. Lots of blood (heads are bleeders), but surprisingly little pain. Aidan then broke his left pointer finger during football practice. He only needed to wear a splint for 5 days, but it is still quite swollen and he can't bend it well. It is interfering with his violin!
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Mr. A (#23) looking oh-so-serious as he lines up.
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Back in early October we celebrated Maeve's 3rd birthday with a Dor@ celebration. She loves her some Dor@ and was happy to accept all related gifts. It was a fun night and perfect weather for the kids to be outside.
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I think she actually understood what was happening this year. The cake was a work of love from Mommy. And by "love" I mean hours of stress and cursing (jk)!
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Birthday girl ready for the party to start.
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We have also visited two pumpkins patches. I personally find pp's to be lots of money for little reward, but maybe I am just a stick in the mud. The kids had a good time. The first patch was way better than the second.
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Fintan posing with the swine.
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Aidan growing and growing.
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We attempted some pictures of the kids. Maeve's casts were not cooperating and neither were the children. These scenes always look picture perfect, but they are actually muddy, wet and pumpkins vines/stems have thorns. How did I never know this? Anyway, this was the best picture we got and we didn't waste a lot of time getting a better one.
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Last weekend we had our Trivia Night at up the kids' school. It was a great event and this year's theme was "As Seen on TV." Our table went as characters from Cheers. We had a blast and though we were beat out by the Jersey Sh0re table (grrrr!), it didn't damper our night.

Three Weeks To Go

2010-09-24T07:30:00.002-06:00

We are 2.5ish weeks post surgery and have about 3 more weeks in casts. It couldn't get here soon enough. Maeve is doing wonderfully, but the immobility of this whole situation is a challenge. She is getting very comfortable watching TV and being carried everywhere! She never complains about her casts and almost accepts them as things that will be here forever. It is too funny. We were expecting constant complaints about them, but after the first few days she has never really mentioned them again. It is almost like they have always been there. She also never complains of itching or discomfort. This is all good, because it is making the time much more bearable. She is completely off the pain medication (acutally has been for about a week). Unfortunately this surgery has completely set back the potty training and she has no interest now. Thankfully we heard from her new preschool and they will let her start once the casts are off potty trained or not. This is a huge relief because we were starting to worry about where she was going to go for that one day per week. It looks like everything is falling into place.

The boys are all doing great too and the Fall has proven to be a super busy time of year around here. Aidan is doing flag football and absolutely loving it. He talks about it all the time and wishing for more practices and games. We haven't really seen this from him regarding other sports, so it is great to watch. He has always liked everything and asked to play different sports, but never really LOVED them like football. Cian is playing soccer and also really enjoying it. He is on a new team, but it is working out well and he is playing well. His coach is great with the kids so we are enjoying the experience too. Fintan is (kinda) playing soccer. He is technically on a team, but has yet to participate in it at all. We are seriously considering pulling him out of it. We never started the other boys this early, but Fintan really wanted to play so we thought, Why not? Once it started, he cries the entire time and refuses to do anything. We are getting really frustrated with his behavior and he is worrying about it all week long (when is the next game!!!). It is just not worth it, so I think we have learned that Kindergarten might just be the year to start sports for our kids. Anything before that just doesn't seem to work out. Oh well.

Aidan and Cian have also started cub scouts again. They both really enjoy it so that is good. This year we are selling popcorn, so if anyone wants some let us know!!
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Maeve has taken over our den/playroom as "her room."

What a difference a Day Makes

2010-09-09T10:58:00.002-06:00

The princess is back on her thrown and directing traffic all around her. Susie asked her today if she needed a bell and Maeve responded with a quick "No." Screaming "MOM" is apparently much more efficient. Our new pain medication routine is working well and Maeve had a pretty good night. She still is asking us constantly to take her "socks" off, but hopefully as her pain gets better those request will (might/hopefully) decrease. She is non-weight bearing for the next FIVE weeks so the next challenge will be keeping her down. She has already tried to stand up a few times, so this will be interesting.

Home

2010-09-08T18:58:00.002-06:00

We are home. Maeve had a horrible day and we are quite frustrated with the care we received from Shriners right now. I'm sure our perspective will change over the next few days, but for right now we are happy to be home. Pain control is a huge issue, so the next few days will be tough!

Surgery Complete

2010-09-07T20:03:00.001-06:00

After a very long day, Maeve is out of surgery and in her room. They had to cut into the bones on both feet and place pins so she is in plaster casts on both feet. They are not over the knee as we thought so that is good. The MD is very happy with the outcome and he says the feet look great. Maeve will be in the casts for 5 weeks.

For now she is doing okay. Not too much pain and hopefully will get some sleep tonight. Her IV came out this evening and because she is drinking well they didn't put it back in. The down side is that she hates the pain medicine so the IV would have come in handy. Susie is with her tonight so we will see how the night goes. Thanks for all the prayers today!!

Getting checked in and not too sure about all this.

Hanging out in the play room. This is one of the last smiles Maeve gave us during this trip.

In the recovery room. She still had the epidural block at this time, so life was still pretty good.

Maeve's Surgery

2010-09-06T19:53:00.002-06:00

We (Susie, Maeve and I) are in St. Louis for Maeve's big surgery tomorrow. She is having her cleft feet repaired. We are very excited to get this completed and yet nervous for her and for the unknowns that are out there. Hopefully all goes well tomorrow and she has a quick recovery. She should be in casts for about 3 weeks. We will have more information tomorrow and will update the blog throughout the day. If you think about it, please say a prayer for Maeve tomorrow morning!
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A New Year begins

2010-08-25T13:07:00.003-06:00

A new school year has started and everyone seems settled into their surroundings. Aidan started 3rd grade. He is playing flag football and we are still deciding on swim team. I depends on how much time we have between all the sports. Cian is in 1st grade. He is playing soccer and really enjoying everything. Fintan is in Pre-K three days a week. He is still going through some adjustments as some of the kids have changed in his class. He is having some moments of "I'm trying very hard not to cry" as we walk into his classroom. He does well at school, but it is hard breaking to see him sad in the morning! Hopefully he will feel more comfortable soon. Maeve is enjoying some peace in quiet at home and getting some quality one-on-one time with us!

The weather has changed (at least this week!) to a very comfortable temp outside, so we are enjoying the break from the heat!

Reunions

2010-08-01T07:44:00.004-06:00

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We headed to Dallas this weekend to have a family reunion with Susie's siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and anyone else who cared to join in. We had a great time and enjoyed everyone's company. We can't wait for the next one!

Hilton Head Island

2010-07-19T19:35:00.003-06:00

We just returned from a wonderful week on Hilton Head Island. I think it is our favorite place in America!! I love beach vacations and Hilton Head is beautiful!! The kids had a blast playing in the sand, boogie boarding, hunting for shells and biking. It was a super relaxing vacation and we are ready to move there!!! Unfortunately that won't be happening because apparently it takes a job and money to live on an island--neither of which we have. What a rip! So I guess we will just have to settle for a yearly vaca there!

Another great part of the trip was an opportunity to meet up with two families from our China travel group. One family lives on HHI and the other family is from Salt Lake. We all planned it so we would be there at the same time and it was great to see them and their little girls again. Amazing how much they have changed in the past 16 months!
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Aidan and Cian catching some waves

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Maeve relaxing at Steamer Seafood Co.
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Cian searching for shells at "the drop off." (Really it is just a place that leaves behind all kinds of ocean life when the tide rolls out)
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The boys down by the water, looking for crabs at The Old Oyster Factory.

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Maeve modeling her swimsuit

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Fintan and Maeve hanging out after a bicycle ride

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Aidan and Madeline at The Salty Dog Cafe. This was right after our amazing Dolphin Cruise. We were lucky to get right behind a shrimp boat that was dumping the days catch (or at least the shrimp that were worth keeping). We saw about 20 dolphins gobbling up breakfast!

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Maeve enjoying the waves.

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Maeve and Fintan enjoyed a game of jumping the waves. All work was done by Daddy!

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Cian getting some board time
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The China girls and dads. (Chelsee, Sarah, Maeve)
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The China girls and the moms. It was awesome to see these guys again and reconnect. We are looking forward to our next reunion.

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Cian and Fintan at the Pirates' Cove putt-putt

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Aidan and Cian gathering some shells at Dolphin Head park

Cian's 1st Tooth

2010-07-19T19:20:00.002-06:00

Cian lost his first tooth about two weeks ago. We (me and the boys) were on our way to Petsmart to buy some fish (don't ask!) and out popped the tooth! Cian was super excited to find out it didn't hurt and was even more excited to have a visit from the tooth fairy!

Summer's Here

2010-06-05T06:16:00.003-06:00

We have disappeared into the blogosphere lately! May was super busy around here and we are thrilled to be full steam into summer! Here are some of the highlights of May:

Traveled to St. Louis to Shriner's Hospital for Children. Met a wonderful doctor who is going to do some amazing surgeries on Maeve's hands and feet in the Fall.
Cian graduated from Kindergarten--so fun!
Aidan finished up 2nd grade
Fintan finished pre-school and moves onto Pre-K
Opened the lake house and Cian catches the first fish of the season!
Celebrated another year in my life :)
Welcomed three new cousins into our family (Ainsley, Janie and Josie)!!!
Had a wonderfully relaxing Memorial Day at the lake
Had a great visit from Grandma and Grandpa
First day at the pool!!

I'm sure there are some other things too. We are now fully into summer with later bedtimes and sun kissed skin. Aidan and Cian start swim team next week and Fintan start swim lessons too. We are looking forward to our trips to Hilton Head and Dallas this summer. Lots of fun to be had! I love summer!!!

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Maeve, Cian, Madeline (cousin) and Aidan getting ready for birthday cupcakes (Caitlin's birthday).
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Maeve enjoying breakfast at the Embassy Suites (our favorite hotel) in St. Louis before her Shriner's appt.
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Fintan not-so-much-enjoying breakfast.
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Cian with his prized first catch of the season!
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Cian and his uber-excellent Kindergarten teacher.
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Miss Maeve

First Communion

2010-04-18T18:25:00.003-06:00

Aidan received his first communion today and we all celebrated with him. It was a wonderful day! I can't believe how old he is getting and it seems like yesterday we were picking out his name. I guess we will be saying that more and more as he (and all the kids) continues to reach milestones in life! The mass was very nice and very crowded. We had a dinner at our house after mass. It was a really great day.
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Easter pics

2010-04-07T13:09:00.003-06:00

We had perfect weather for Easter and really had a terrific day. The kids enjoyed three egg hunts and received way too much candy. Everyone was happy with the Easter Bunny and his gifts. We had a delicious brunch at our neighbor's house (thanks Hair's!) and then spent the afternoon with my parents.
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Maeve all dressed up!
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Seriously it is getting difficult to get a decent picture of the kids together. Fintan is a major wiggle worm and I think a sugar high had already kicked in a this point!
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After nearly a year of asking, the Easter Bunny finally delivered Cian our newest family member, "Fluffy." Cian was thrilled and is loving his guinea pig. I have always wanted a rodent in the house :)
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I love this picture so I had to add it. Fintan's hair is just funny at times. This was pre-egg hunt #1 and he couldn't wait to get outside. Fintan woke up at 6:20 in the morning and was already looking outside to spot all the eggs. Thankfully the Easter Bunny was up at 6:12 and was able to hide them all just in time!

Violins

2010-04-07T13:03:00.003-06:00

Aidan and Cian started violin lessons in January. It was really more of my desire than theirs, but thankfully they like it. I really wanted the kids to have some sort of music lessons, but after looking at pianos for 2 years we just never have gotten around to getting one. Starting violin was pretty easy and they are small. Aidan is doing really well and improving every week. Cian struggles a little, but is learning. After 3 months I would not start Cian this young if I had to do it over again. Aidan was plenty ready, but I think being able to read is helpful before starting. If Fintan is interested I think we will wait until 1st grade.
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A little Green amid the Grey!

2010-03-21T09:47:00.002-06:00

Just when we got a taste of Spring, we get hit with another 7.5 inches of snow. Yuck! I think we are all suffering from SAD this year! Susie is working this weekend so the kids and I got a week long pass to an indoor pool/community center. I can't stand being stuck in the house for another weekend! Hopefully this is the last of old man Winter!!

We had another great St. Patty's day this year. Our party was almost ruined by cold weather and rain, but the Irish spirit can't be broken. We had a great turn out and some great fun! By the end of the day our house was covered in mud and so were our kids, but we had a blast and can't wait for next year!!
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Last year Maeve landed in the US the night before our St. Pat's parade party. It all seems like a blur now. This year we were all able to enjoy ourselves much more!
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All the grand kids and Mimi and Papa. My parents are doing great! My dad has recovered from his surgery and is nearly perfect. My mom had her BIG surgery this past week. She is such a champion! One day later she was home and feeling great. She had such a long past 3 months of chemo so it was great to see her rebound so quickly from surgery. She still has a long road to go, but all the prayers are working!!

George Washington

2010-03-21T09:39:00.003-06:00

Aidan had a recent project at school to give a report on a famous American. He chose George Washington. He also had to decorate a plastic pop bottle as George. We had a great time with this project and even Grandma Jane got involved. It turned out well and Aidan's report was great. All the kids did well and it was fun to watch.
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Happy 1st Gotcha Day!!!

2010-03-02T18:18:00.005-06:00

What a difference a year makes!! We are so thrilled to be celebrating Maeve's one year anniversary with our family. We feel like she has been here forever. I guess that is why they call it "forever family." Maeve has come so far in the past year. It is hard to believe that she is the same girl in this first picture!! She was so scared and so shut down. It has been a long, exhausting, wonderful, emotional and amazing year! Thank goodness we don't have to relive it!
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. Maeve...not so happy about meeting Mommy and Daddy :(

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One year later and all smiles, surrounded by her adoring fans.
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Blowing out her candles.

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Don't ask me why this picture looks like it was taken in 1972. (not a camera expert here)
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This is the happy girl we see everyday. Maeve- We are so thrilled to be your parents and have you in our lives!!

Church Pictures

2010-02-24T08:41:00.004-06:00

We had family pictures taken for our church's directory about a month ago. They didn't turn out great, but we were able to get a few decent pictures. We definitely could use some sunlight in our family!! Maeve was NOT cooperating that night so we had to calm her with gum. Naturally the best picture of the family shows Maeve chewing the gum right in the front of her teeth. Perfect! Oh well, it is our first official family photo with Maeve so we had to have it. The pictures of the kids were all horrible. The one I have posted is the best, but we still didn't like it. The photographer didn't do well with arranging the kids. The whole picture just looks lopsided. We didn't get any of those. (Remember it was 8:30pm on a Friday night, so we were happy that Maeve and Finnie were awake and semi-appropriate!).

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Nothin'

2010-02-20T17:48:00.003-06:00

I got nothin' big to report around here lately. Work-school-basketball-snow-repeat. That has been our life lately. It is snowing again right now. We have predictions of 2-20 inches. Nice! Come on spring!!
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Cian as a court jester.
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Maeve enjoying her apple.
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Aidan post b-ball game.

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Another happy photo. We are coming up on one year since Maeve joined our family. I can't believe it has been a year already. More about that in another post...

Basketball Fever

2010-01-31T08:57:00.002-06:00

Aidan's basketball season has begun and he is loving it again this year. He has kicked it up a notch by player on an intramural team on Friday nights. So now we have basketball on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Thankfully this is a sport we love to watch so we don't mind!

We had a phantom fever running through our house this past week. Cian, Fintan and Maeve were all affected at different times. Thankfully Cian and Fintan were only sick for 24 hrs. Maeve decided to hold onto that fever for SIX days. It was so frustrating because nothing else was wrong with her. Towards the end of the fever she developed a nice cough that is still present, but otherwise she is back to normal now!

Well that is it from our end. Life is quickly moving along as always. Some days we have to remind ourselves to slow down and enjoy the scenery.
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Happy Kids

2010-01-13T12:00:00.002-06:00

At least the cold weather and indoor-only activities do not have the kids' spirits down. They are managing to stay happy and have fun even when cooped up inside!
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Any suggestions for hanging 6-8 coats in a small space? We cannot seem to keep up with the coats and shoes around here (especially in the winter!).
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Happy girl
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Shoeless Fintan.

32 + degrees

2010-01-13T08:38:00.002-06:00

I never thought I would be so excited to see a forcast with temperatures in the upper 30's. I am so OVER the snow!

Holiday Recap

2010-01-10T09:14:00.004-06:00

We had quite the unusual holiday experience this year with all the snow. Unfortunately many of our family gatherings were cancelled due to poor road conditions and we had one nasty stomach flu that attempted to ruin everyone's fun. In the end, it all worked out well and we were able to make the most of all the days. I hope you all had a great holiday season and Happy New Year!

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Aidan and Cian rounding the stairs to see all their treasures. When Aidan was still on the stairs he asked, "Dad do you see any coal?"
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Aidan was struck with a stomach virus around 1am and was over the toilet every 15-30 minutes all night. Fortunately he was able to feel well for a few minutes while we opened presents.
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Fintan opening gifts at Mimi and Papa's house.
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Maeve loves her Kai Lan toys! Maeve had a great first Christmas, though like most 2 year-olds, she didn't quite get the whole experience.
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Cian opening gifts at Mimi and Papa's

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New Year's Eve
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The boys and their cousins celebrating as the ball dropped. This is the most exciting night of their year. They absolutely love New Year's and the thought of staying up until midnight is such a thrill. We are always regretting it in the morning, but it is worth it for one night!

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Fintan having a serious moment and thinking about his resolutions for the New Year. My vote is less fighting with his siblings!
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Cian and Mimi
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Aidan and cousin Bennett
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Cian ringing in the New Year!

It's beginning to feel a lot like...

2009-12-22T20:47:00.003-06:00

Christmas! Work is winding down, school is out, presents are getting wrapped, Grandma and Grandpa are in town and the excitement level at our house is up, WAY UP! The kids are so excited for Christmas this year (and I am too!). Tonight we all "talked through" our Christmas plans for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was fun to listen to the kids talk about each and every thing that we will be doing over those two days. It even sounds like Santa might be bringing some snow with him on Christmas Eve.
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Cian and his PT panda from school. This little guy travel home each night with a different child and fills up his notebook with adventures. Cian wanted to play dress up with PT.
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Maeve posing in one of her many Christmas dresses. Too bad these can only be worn for such a short amount of time. This one was made by Grandma!
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Fintan...just being cute.
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Fintan and Maeve hanging out in Buzz's tent.
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Cian and Tex (he is our newest member of the household) our Chihuahua. This is Tex's first Christmas too. We would like his gift to us to be getting himself potty trained! (It has been a long 4 months since he came home!)
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Aidan and Maeve. Aidan takes the big brother role very seriously and lately he has been so great with Maeve. He is constantly playing with her and helping her with everything.
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Maeve's story

2009-12-18T09:22:00.001-06:00

Hop on over to Great Wall's blog and you can read a story we submitted about our journey to find Maeve!

http://www.gwca.org/blog/

Maeve's first snow

2009-12-16T13:38:00.003-06:00

It didn't stay around for long, but we managed to get some good play time in before it went away.

Good news!

2009-12-03T21:48:00.003-06:00

We received great news today about my mom. Her breast cancer has not spread!!!!!!! We are so relieved and can now focus on the treatment ahead. She goes in for a port-a-cath tomorrow and then starts chemo next week. She still has a long road ahead, but the outlook is much better. Thanks for the support and prayers!

Thanksgiving recap

2009-11-29T18:25:00.004-06:00

We are home again after another great Thanksgiving in Dallas. Unfortunately our drive to Dallas did not turn out so well, but the rest of the weekend was great. It is always a gamble on the drive to Dallas. In theory, it is a ~8 hr trip (including one ~15 min stop). The stop half way through the trip can last 10 minutes or 1.5 hours depending on the kids moods and how desperate we are to get out of the car. In addition, we are never quite sure what natural disasters or human disasters we will run into on I-35 (always exciting...well, not so much). This time it was an overturned semi-trailer one hour south of Oklahoma City. This stopped us for 2.5 hours as the interstate was completely shut down. Let me tell ya, there is not a lot of things to do in Pauls Valley, OK!! Not that we had the opportunity because we were stuck with thousands of our Turkey Day traveling friends. Very long trip short, we made it to Dallas and had a great Thanksgiving!
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We love going to the Gaylord Texan hotel over Thanksgiving/Christmas time. The decorations/atmosphere are amazing and the kids love it. It was definitely the highlight of the trip! Above is Fintan getting ready to feast on the buffet!
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Grandma and Grandpa resting at the saloon with the grandkids.
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Maeve working her smile for the camera.
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Aidan (with a snarly Fintan in the background) looking mature as always.
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Maeve in her picture day dress. We attempted to get a family portrait today at my least favorite place (Protr@it Innov@tions) and after waiting 40 minutes after our appt time with 2 families left in front of us and thousands of screaming kids (okay, maybe not thousands, but it sure seemed like it!) we gave up on the portrait idea. We opted to try and get a family picture at the Gaylord that would work for our Christmas card. Usually this is a near impossible task to get all the kids smiling at once, but I think we did okay (and we saved a few $$$ by ditching the studio photos!).
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Cian checking out some of the trains.
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One of our Christmas card options. This one wasn't the best, but some of the others were pretty good. You will have to wait and see the final product in the mail (if you are one of the lucky ones to receive a card...I'm sure you are crossing your fingers as I type!).

I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful too and filled with great memories!

News

2009-11-23T21:11:00.002-06:00

We got some good news on the cancer front today. My dad's cancer has not spread!! He has a few treatment options to choose from and it sounds like he is leaning towards radiation vs. surgery. We are so thrilled to get this news. While is radiation treatment will be somewhat difficult, I'm sure, the end results sound wonderful.

My mom was able to get her biopsy done today too. She met with her surgeon this morning and while they were planning to do a needle biopsy in the office, the plans changed after talking for awhile. The surgeon felt more comfortable taking my mom to the OR and getting a larger biopsy. I'm not sure the exact reasoning behind all this, but it sounds like this process will yield a more definitive diagnosis. I am very nervous about the results, but also ready to see the whole picture so we can move forward. We will not have more information for 3-5 days, so the waiting continues. The waiting/work up period is painful!

Thanks for the prayers and good thoughts so far. Keep them coming!

Prayers wanted

2009-11-21T13:09:00.004-06:00

The past 7 days have been whirlwind in our lives and I would like to ask all of you out there in blog land (whether we know you or not) to offer up some prayers on my parent's behalf. My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer last Friday. He underwent some additional scans this week to make sure the cancer has not spread. We will get those results on Monday. If it has not spread (for which we are very hopeful) then treatment seems fairly straight forward with a great prognosis. Yesterday, my mother was told she has breast cancer. This has completely devastated us and thrown us off our axii. How can this happen?! Both diagnosed with cancer within 7 days of each other? We are right in the mix of her work up and diagnosis and will hopefully know more information next week. We were told to show up for a biopsy today, but due to some very poor communication between physicians, there was no biopsy ever scheduled. Until she has the biopsy we will not know what we are dealing with; i hate the waiting game. This brief experience has made me so frustrated with adult health care. I have spent my career thus far working in pediatric health care and a little in oncology. There are always little glitches in communication, but it is so irritating to be told to show up on a Saturday morning for a biopsy only to find out the office is not even open and the on call physician has no idea about your identity. Adult health care has much to be desired.

Anyway, until we find out all our answers we could use your prayers. We have no idea what road(s) we will have to travel with both of these diagnoses and that is pretty scary. Even with all this going on, we have so much to be thankful for this next week. We have each other and a great support group outside of our families. Hopefully we will have more news (good news!) after this week!!

Happy Birthday Cian

2009-11-11T09:59:00.003-06:00

Cian rang in his 6th year with a pirate party. This was probably our *best* at home party yet. We had just enough activities to hold the boys' attention yet enough play time to let them run wild. Again, we had freakishly warm weather so that allowed the entire party to be outside. It was a great day for a great kid!
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6 year old Cian next to his pirate cake. Notice the candles acting as cannons out the side of the cake.
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A smattering of the pirates that raided our house.
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We were able to drag out the pinata activity for about 30 minutes. Perfect!!
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Make a wish.
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Cake all around, matey!

Halloween Haunts

2009-11-11T09:49:00.003-06:00

Once again I have been slacking on the blog front. Busy life I guess. Anyway, we had a great Halloween. The weather has been exceptionally warm lately so it made for a perfect night. We had our usual chili party and a houseful of friends and family. Due to our schedules we were unable to have an official party for Maeve's birthday (back on October 2) so we decided to celebrate on Halloween. All the kids have had an Elmo cake on their 2nd birthday, so we kept up that tradition and Susie made an Elmo cake for Maeve.

Aidan was much more into Trick or Treat this year and I think he would have gone for hours had we let him. Cian and Fintan we only semi-impressed, but they made it about one block. Maeve didn't understand at all, but enjoyed some of the benefits (the candy). All in all it was a great night. Now all the Halloween decorations have been put away and we are almost ready to bust out the *tree*!!
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Fintan (Luke Skywalker) and Cian (Darth Vader...the mask was too constricting for his taste)
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Maeve not quite understanding why everyone is singing to her. She managed to blow the candles out with some help from Aidan and friends.
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Maeve (Princess Leah)
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The Star Wars gang. Aidan was a Clone Trooper (???)

Laibin Project video

2009-10-10T11:32:00.003-06:00

I have attached a link to the Laibin Project video. This young man is raising money to build a foster home village in China for orphaned children. If you watch the video closely you will see Maeve make two appearances at 7:36 and again at 10:09. This was filmed while she was still in foster care. We are so thankful that we found out about this video as it adds more to the picture of Maeve's life in China. I am so happy to find out that she lived in this foster home village. We know it made a huge difference in making her the strong, well adjusted, wonderful child she is!!

(thanks, Ellen, for letting us know about this!)

http://vimeo.com/6674672

Fall Adventures

2009-10-10T10:02:00.005-06:00

We love the fall around here. Unfortunately this year, we have not been getting much of the desired fall temperatures. It is already so cold here in the Midwest. Aidan had a soccer game this morning and it was 37 F outside. Susie is at work, so the kids and I only lasted ~10 minutes until we bolted back to the car to finish watching from there. Anyway, the kids have been able to do some fun fall activities already. They went to an apple orchard and picked tons of apples and also went to a pumpkin patch. Everyone is having a daily debate over their individual Halloween costumes, so it will be interesting to see what they each end of choosing.
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Maeve is loaded up and ready to go!
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Cian sizing up the witch in our living room.
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Fintan and Maeve trying to find their pumpkin picks.
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Aidan...when did he get so big?
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Cian and Maeve.
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An attempt to get a good picture of the foursome. Oh, well we gave it a shot!
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Busy house

2009-09-20T14:39:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. It is not that I don't have much to report, it is just the time to report it! In addition I have misplaced our USB cable for our camera and I kept wait to write a new post when I had pictures to post. Since I can't find the cable, I might as well write about our goings on. We are knee deep in soccer for both Aidan and Cian. It is going well for both of them. This is Cian's first year and he is loving it. The two of them couldn't be more different when it comes to sports. Cian smiles the entire time and is very aggressive towards the ball. Aidan was so shy and timid at this age (different story now), so it is funny to watch Cian's experiences. We decided to hold off on club swimming for Aidan right now. He has enough extracurricular activities to keep all of us busy right now. Maybe in January we will re-address that.

School is moving along well for all the boys. Fintan loves preschool, but at the same time he is happy when it is not a school day. Good thing he gets to enjoy both worlds for the next two years. Cian is our biggest surprise with school. He never liked preschool the past two years. He would go and not put up (too) much of a fight, but he would also love it when it was a "stay at home day." This year he wants to be a school all the time. He has even been upset a few Saturdays to learn it wasn't a school day. We are very relieved that he is happy at school. Aidan continues to love school as he always had. He is active in soccer and boys scouts right now. Basketball will start before we know it, I'm sure.

Maeve continues to do well. She continues to emerge from her shell every day. We keep thinking she is "all out," then every week we see her do something else that tells us she is continuing to open up. It is great to see!

Well that is all for now. Hopefully I will get some pictures loaded soon. Until next time...

Love Without Boundaries

2009-09-12T10:10:00.004-06:00

We just signed up to be sponsors for a little boy in China. Love without Boundaries is a great program helping orphaned children in China while they are waiting for loving adoptive homes. Click on the picture above and take a look around their site!

Summer's End

2009-08-18T21:18:00.003-06:00

The new school year started bright and early this morning (we need to get used to that routine again!). All the boys are in some kind of school this year. Fintan will be in ECLC (two days a week), Cian in Kindergarten and Aidan in 2nd grade. Man, how the time flies. Everyone had a great day and Maeve enjoyed the house to herself!!
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Fintan funny

2009-08-14T21:22:00.001-06:00

After work today I met Susie and the kids at Costco. Fintan rode home with me in my "work car." For whatever reason, the kids get a kick out of riding in this car. Anyway, we were having some great conversation and it all ended like this...

Me: Thanks for riding home with me Finnie.

Fintan: Your welcome. Daddy, are you sad when you don't get to ride with me?

Me: Yes.

Fintan: Oh, because I am sad when I don't get to ride with Mimi.

Texas

2009-08-10T17:34:00.005-06:00

We spent some good times in Dallas the past few weeks and you can see the smiles on the kids faces below.
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Maeve riding a tricycle. She doesn't quite get the concept of pedalling.
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Our family picture that we submitted to China. Hopefully this shows that Maeve is happy. She doesn't smile well on command in group shots. Oh well!

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New Teachers!

2009-08-09T12:10:00.002-06:00

Today was the uber-anticipated day of the summer. The boys found out who their teachers will be for the next school year. Aidan will be in second grade and Cian will be in Kindergarten. They both had their "top choice" teachers picked. Cian got his "pick" and Aidan did not. Fintan will be in ECLC (pre-school) two days a week and there is only one teacher for that, so we already knew who he would have. Everyone is happy with their new teachers and now we are ready for school to start. I love this time of year. There just seems to be excitement and happiness around the start of a new school year. Hopefully it will be a good one!

Loving Summer

2009-07-01T11:46:00.004-06:00

We are having a great summer so far and it is hard to believe that it is already half over. Aidan played machine-pitch baseball and had a great time. Cian played t-ball and also loved it. Cian and Fintan are in swim lessons and making great progress. I am thinking that Cian is part fish. Aidan is in swim team for the first time this year and aside from the 8am practices (EVERYDAY!!) he is loving that too. He has really improved on all his strokes. Maeve is running around with us and enjoying all the activities from the side lines. When we are not at a sport activity, we are usually at the pool 4 days a week. Maeve really likes the pool and prefers to hang in the zero entry pool right at the area where the water comes up to her neck. One more step and she will be under water, one step back and she is not happy. Very fun! Cian is going down the water slides this year which is a huge change from last summer. Fintan loves to jump in over and over again. Yes, he is that kid who bothers all the moms who are in the pool trying not to get wet (you know who you are!). Aidan loves the pool too. We rarely see him after we walk through the gates as he needs to be in the deep end with the cool people.

We have spent many weekends at the lake house already and plan to get in as many as possible before the summer ends. We will also take a trip to Texas for a week to soak in some rays and lounge and grandma and grandpa's house. We hope all of your summers are going well!!

Maeve Update

2009-06-06T17:17:00.003-06:00

Maeve has been with us for 3 months now and she is doing great. She has made so much progress it is hard to believe she is the same sacred baby we met in China on March 2nd. She is talking alot. Most of it is still gibberish, but she is clearly saying about 15 words and more seem to be added everyday. She is no longer running up to strangers and asking to be held, which is a great sign that she is learning who she is supposed to be with. Sounds like a weird "improvement," but it is very common in adopted children to be confused and open to anyone and everyone. Now she is much more reserved and sticks close to Susie and I.

Her cast was removed on Thursday and her fingers look great. There are still some large scabs covering her thumb and index finger, but those should fall off in the next few days. Until then, we are continuing to wrap her hand in gauze/bandages, but we change it twice a day and she can now take a bath! That alone makes life easier around here. We go back to the ortho surgeon in 2 weeks and they will probably make a splint for her to wear at night. Her index finger naturally wants to deviate over to her thumb and so that still needs to be straightened out a bit. All in all, it seems like the whole process was a success thus far so we are thrilled.
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Crazy week

2009-05-20T18:38:00.002-06:00

This has been an interested week so far. We had a very busy weekend of baseball practices, high school graduations/pool parties and our niece's birthday party. On Sunday as we got home and were finishing up late baths and getting everyone in their pj's, Maeve some how managed to throw off her cast. YIKES! How it happened we still do not understand, but one minute it was on and the next it was lying on the floor. Her hand did not look good. Not that we would expect it to 2 days post surgery, but it was a bit scary for the boys. There is was ton of swelling and bruising along with the hundreds of stitches. So I called the ortho physician on call and took Maeve into the ED. Thankfully the ED was not very busy and we were only there about an hour and a half. She has a new cast now and unfortunately the emergency room does not offer the "colorful" choices of cast as they offer in the ortho clinic. So she has a very bland brown cast. Oh well. This cast seems fairly secure so hopefully it will stay on the next few weeks. I also hope her hand looks better the next time we see it...I'm sure it will. Other than that, Maeve is doing really well and the cast is not slowing her down one bit. We were just noticing how happy she seems lately. It will be interesting to see how she is in 6 months!

Currently we are a house hold of two kids...Cian and Fintan headed to the lake today with my parents. It is amazing how quiet it is around here without them. We are enjoying the break tonight, but I'm sure we will miss the noise by tomorrow. I know the boys are having a blast and we will see them on Friday. We went out to eat tonight as a special treat for Aidan since he had to stay home and go to school for the rest of the week. It was a nice dinner with four fewer hands around the table.

We are watching the finale of American Idol though I haven't seen a single episode all season. I used to watch it religiously, but obviously this has been a busy year so far. At least we are catching the last show so far it has been great.

Surgery success

2009-05-15T19:12:00.002-06:00

Maeve had surgery today on her left hand. After much thought and discussion with her surgeon, we decided to hold off on the right hand, for now. She does not feel that the fingers on Maeve's right hand can be separated and we are not sure we are ready to give up on that thought just yet. Since the work she was going to do was mainly cosmetic on the right, we just decided to pause on that for a little while. The left hand was a priority anyway and it would probably be better to not have both hands in a cast for the next 3 weeks. We are now very thankful that we made that decision.

Maeve went into surgery ~0945 this morning and was in recovery at ~1245. We were able to see her again at ~2pm. The surgeon felt everything went as expected with no surprises. She was happy to see Maeve's pointer finger straighten out well once it was released from her thumb, so that is good news. Now Maeve has a cast from just above her elbow all the way down and completely covering her hand. This is mainly to keep the skin from being injured so the grafts can heal well. It looks now as if she had her hand amputated, so it is quite a sight! She is doing very well and very tired tonight.

Disney Wonder

2009-05-11T20:40:00.009-06:00

Sorry for our lack of postings lately. We have been quite busy around here. We just returned from a wonderful week at Disney World. We spent 4 nights aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship and 3 nights at Disney World with one magical day at Magic Kingdom. It was a great week and the pictures show all the fun.
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Cian and Fintan getting Goofy's autograph. The boys loved meeting all the characters. They were able to get autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Stitch, Chip and Dale and Captain Hook.
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Aidan and Cian in front of Cinderella's castle.
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Cian on the carousel.
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Susie and Finnie on "Its a Small World." This is a family favorite and we had to ride it numerous times.
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Maeve liked small world too!
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Aidan and Cian waiting on the Indianapolis 500. Aidan was tall enough to drive and push the pedals, so he was thrilled.
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Fintan wading in the waters of Castaway Cay Island.
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Susie and Maeve on the Castaway Cay tram.
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The Disney Wonder!!!
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All the kids and cousin Evan hanging out at Castaway Cay.
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The boys with their best friends!
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Maeve lounging in our stateroom.
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Susie and Maeve at the absolutely crazy Mickey pool on the ship. This place was madness.
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Cian and Fintan amongst the thousands of kids in the Mickey pool.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:34:00.004-06:00

Happy Easter to you! We headed down south to Dallas to celebrate Easter with Susie's parents. We have had a great weekend. The trip did not start out great though, at least not for Susie and the kids (I flew down...poor me :) . The usual 8 hr drive here took 12.5 hrs!!!! This was not good for Maeve's first experience on a long distance road trip. There were massive fires in Oklahoma and the highway was such down twice. At one point they waited 2.5 hrs on the interstate as fires rushed along the road and smoke filled our car. All I can say is thank God they are safe and thank God again that I was not there!! I guess the boys all did amazingly well considering and Maeve tolerated the whole trip pretty well too. Hopefully our drive back will be less eventful. The rest of the weekend has been great and relaxing. We have had decent weather except this morning, so the kids had their egg hunt in the house. It didn't damper any of their spirits though, so that is good. Maeve has done great on the trip and she is sleeping better here than at home! She even likes the pool. We are happy she was able to get used to the bath before coming here.
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Ready to be the leader of the marching band.
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Taking a leisurely Sunday drive.
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Thumbs up to pool time for Fintan.
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Maeve a little tentative at first.
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The kids taking a break from their "war" with Grandpa.
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Cian, Maeve and Aidan on the pool rocker.
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Serious business of egg dying.
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Grandma and Maeve getting the stickers ready for the eggs.
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Aidan and Cian post egg hunt.
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Easter Pictures

2009-04-11T14:16:00.008-06:00

We had the kids photos taken today. Sorry, but I can't flip them around so you will have to crank your neck. Happy Easter!!
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Fintan
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Cian
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Aidan
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The gang. Maeve was not thrilled with the picture taking!
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This one did turn out well.
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Hand surgery

2009-04-09T17:18:00.003-06:00

We had our first appointment today with Maeve's hand surgeon. She was a wonderful woman who was very knowledgeable about syndactaly. She explained everything she will be doing and how we can give Maeve the most function and best cosmetic look too. The surgery is planned for 5/15/09, so hopefully we will be able to stick to that. Maeve has an upper respiratory infection right now and she needs to be runny nose free for ~4 weeks prior to anesthesia. We cannot wait to have this done so we will continue to pray for it all to work out.

Who are these kids?

2009-04-07T15:34:00.009-06:00

We mentioned earlier that Maeve's orphanage director gave us a few gifts on Maeve's adoption day. One of them was a CD filled with pictures. Most of these pictures are of Maeve and her foster mother or just Maeve, but some of them include other children. We recently "found" one of the kiddos, but would love to meet the other children and follow them as Maeve grows up. Some day she may want to meet some of these girls again and have that connection. We have no idea if these children have been adopted or not. Some of them very well may be waiting for their moms and dads to this day. Anyway, if you recognize any of these beautiful kids as your own, let us know. We would love to keep in contact with you.
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This kiddo is in many pictures with Maeve. We know Maeve's foster mom cared for another baby, so maybe this was that baby???
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I love this picture. Not sure why they are all lined up, but it is very cute. The little girl next to Maeve has some crazy hair.
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The layers of clothing crack me up. Remember this is in a tropical part of China.
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We have "found" this little girl and know her name is Flora. She is now a Virginia girl!!

Week 3

2009-04-05T17:52:00.004-06:00

All continues to be going well on the home front. Maeve has a good day then a not so good day. We think she is making good progress, but at other times we feel like she still is so unsure of us and her new home. We have noticed that large crowds seem to throw her off for the next day. Kinda of strange, but we think it is all the new people and everyone wanting to hold her. Our social worker has asked us to not have anyone hold her other than Susie and I, so we will try that and see if it helps. I'm sure it is confusing for Maeve to figure things out when all these strangers are reaching for her. Hopefully that will continue to get better. The boys are doing great and we are so impressed/proud of them. They have really taken to her and welcomed into our family.

Aidan had a soccer game this weekend and scored a goal!! He was very excited about that. We had dinner with my parents last night and celebrated Easter with them. The kids had an egg hunt in their yard and had a great time. Today has been rainy and lazy. Maeve (and me!) slept for 3 hours!! We had a fairly busy weekend so I'm sure she was very tired. Grandma Jane returns this week so we are all very excited!! Also after much fretting on my part, Maeve's US passport arrived yesterday! What a relief!! Now we can go on the cruise without any fears. Also they put Maeve's new US name on the passport. We were not sure if it would have her Chinese name or US name. We asked for her US name, but also read somewhere to in order to "legally" change her name, we would have to go to court. Anyway, it has the correct name, so I am thrilled.
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Having fun with Cian and Audra.
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Cian and Fintan trying to make a break for it.
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The new princess and her princely subjects.
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Very serious

Two weeks down

2009-03-29T14:07:00.005-06:00

We have been home two weeks now and things continue to move forward. Maeve is doing great and everyday seems better. She had a rough week this past week with trips to the pediatrician and dentist. She had to get 7 immunizations, a TB test and blood drawn at the pediatrician's office. Obviously that wasn't a great experience for any of us!! Then on Wednesday she visited the dentist and they gave Susie that bad news that Maeve needed to have her bottom tooth pulled. We guessed this might happen, but were not positive. Well, it was rotten to the core and the dentist wanted it out. As she was pulling it, the tooth crumbled (totally rotten!). She then had a dig and scrape the remaining pieces out of Maeve's gums. It was awful! The good news is that the adult tooth underneath looks good on the x-rays, so hopefully there was no permanent damage done. Maeve looks much better too!

Sleeping continues to be a stumbling block for us. While we were in China Maeve napped twice a day. Morning nap of ~1 hour and in the afternoon for about 2-3 hours. Some of this could have been related to the emotional trauma she was experiencing with the whole adoption. Who knows. Since we have been home we are lucky to get her down for a nap lasting 45 minutes. She appears tired at other times, but she just can't stay asleep. The same issues happen at night. She goes to bed perfectly, but awakens frequently (~5-10 times per night!) screaming. It is a weird scream because she doesn't appear to even be awake. She is still sleeping with us so it only takes a pat on the back or soft whisper and she falls right back to sleep, but it is so strange. Hopefully that will get better as she becomes more and more comfortable in her new home and new life! This whole process is such a guessing game for us!
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She loves watching her brothers play computer games.
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If Aidan could be holding, touching, talking to, playing with or around Maeve all day he would be thrilled. It is great to see him so excited about her. She loves him too!
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Happy girl who loves her Easter basket. (Don't mind Cian in his underwear. Pants are always optional around the house for Cian and Fintan!)

One week home

2009-03-20T19:28:00.007-06:00

Well we have made it through the first week at home and all is going well. The boys were out on Spring Break and we managed to do nothing but sit around. It was great!! We felt like life in China was very "on the go" and we want Maeve to know that we are not "on the go" people. We really want her to get used to life around the house and feel comfortable being home. She continues to be very happy, but has her moments. She definitely has a temper on her, but good thing it never lasts long. One thing we keep laughing about is how adding Maeve to our family is soooo different than bringing an infant home. Not that we thought it would be similar, but with an infant you have that grace period of a few months where they really don't do anything and you can kind of get used to life with another child. Adoption is like instant 4th child and you better be ready! There is no easing in to this. It definitely has been an adventure. She is sleeping through the night well and not having any problems. Naps are hit and miss and we are still working on the best schedule for her. I started back to work today and she did great with Susie all day. Susie felt like Maeve kept looking for me all day, but overall she did very well. This weekend we have soccer games for Aidan and then more family time.
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Fintan is very excited about bubbles!!
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Cian and Fintan showing Maeve what bubbles are all about.
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Why do you keep pointing that camera at me?
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All cleaned up and ready for bed.

Foot appt

2009-03-17T13:43:00.002-06:00

Happy St. Patty's Day!! We celebrated by having our first ortho appointment to have Maeve's feet evaluated. She has cleft feet, so basically her feet are split down the middle and she only has a large toe and pinky toe. For lack of a better description it looks like the Star Trek hand sign, but only on her feet. She is able to walk great and manipulate her feet very well. They took x-rays and the MD gave us her opinion about future surgeries. For now they want her to grow and get used to her life here. (This is good news!) There is no rush. What they will do is some future surgeries to narrow her feet and allow them to fit better into shoes and to look better cosmetically. She wears shoes fine now, but eventually this could be a problem. Maeve did well at the MD appt, she didn't like the x-rays so much or the physical exam, but otherwise was fine. We have her appt at the same office (different doctor) for her hands in April. That one really interests us because we are hoping her hand surgeries can start in May. We will have to see.

Home

2009-03-16T09:32:00.013-06:00

We are HOME and so happy to be back. It was wonderful to see the boys again and we are enjoying our soft bed again!! Our journey home started with our flight from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. This was a short 45 min flight and Maeve did great. The plane was nearly empty so she got her own seat and had us rethinking our decision to not buy her a seat for our long flight. Once in Hong Kong we had a 2 hr lay over until our flight to Chicago. Even though we were only at the airport, we walked around and took in the sights of Hong Kong. It is very pretty with the mountains and ocean all around. Too bad we didn't get to spend any time there.

Our flight to Chicago was packed full! Our plane was larger than our plane on the flight over, but it was not as nice. We were spoiled going to Beijing because we each had our own TV screen on every seat. This time we only had overhead screens to watch, so we were forced to watch whatever movie was showing. We were excited to have a new set of movies to watch, only to find out we had the SAME movies as the flight over!! If you remember that trip, they were horrible, so this did not offer any relief. Anyway, Maeve did great on the 14 hr flight. She slept about 3 hrs total (off and on) and really never fussed. We had HORRIBLE turbulence throughout the flight, but one hour was particularly bad. The pilots announced "flight attendants please apply restraints immediately." Some little boys in front of us were vomiting and when they tried to get to the restroom, the flight attendants yelled at them to sit down, then announced over head, "No one may get out of their seats, even if vomiting. It is too dangerous." We were sooooo nervous and I was convinced we were going down. Needless to say Maeve learned the Hail Mary pretty quickly!! That "event" passed after about an hour and it was off and on bumpy after that, but tolerable.

We finally arrived in Chicago and were greeted by my cousin Annie and her little man, Timmy. It was so great to see a familiar face!! We felt like we had been gone for so long and seeing family again really made home feel like a reality! Annie had a great present for Maeve and some cookies for us!! Thanks Annie!! Going through immigration was not exciting at all! We were expecting the heavens to open and light to shine upon Maeve's face as they stamped her passport "American Citizen." Instead we got a "Da Bears" type of Chicago immigration officer who said, "here ya go." When I asked, "Is that it...the stamp we have been working for this whole time?" He replied, "yep, congratulations....NEXT." We were excited nonetheless as Maeve was officially American!!

Our last flight home was uneventful (THANK YOU!!) and Maeve slept the whole way. We didn't think she would wake up once we landed, but once it was our turn to exit the plane she perked up and was ready to meet her brothers. Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi, Papa, Aunts, Uncles, cousins and Aidan, Cian and Fintan waited for us with a "Welcome Home Maeve" sign as we exited the plane. It was very exciting to finally see everyone and introduce them to Maeve. Once we got home the boys showed her room by room our whole house and it was very sweet to watch them be so gentle with her. She easily goes to each of them and lets Aidan and Cian hold her. It is just too funny to watch her hold up her arms to Aidan wanting him to hold her.

We had a wild weekend with our local St. Pat's parade on Saturday and a house full of friends and family. A great homecoming party!! Sunday we lounged all day and slept. So far all is going well. Maeve struggles a bit throughout the night, awakening frequently and upset. I think her system is all messed up! Last night was much better, so hopefully improvement is around the corner. The boys are on Spring Break this week, so we are going to enjoy the nice weather (80's...warmer than anything we had in China!) and some family time around the house.
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Enjoying her own seat from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.
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Our massive double decker plane from Hong Kong to Chicago. Notice the mountains in the background. Hong Kong looks very nice.
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Goofing off at the Hong Kong airport.
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Annie and Timmy meeting us at O'Hare airport. It was so great to see them and meet Timmy!
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Maeve and Fintan. I hope this pose doesn't indicate things to come!!
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Home one day and already Irish!!
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Having some lunch at the parade party.
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Playing with the recycling boxes.
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Cian and Maeve.
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All the kids at dinner on Sunday.
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Hooray, we are complete!! Fintan, Maeve, Aidan and Cian together at last!!

Goodbye from China

2009-03-12T01:34:00.004-06:00

We are done!!! Hooray!!! We are sooooo ready to come home and see our boys and introduce them to their new little sister. Today we went to the American Consulate and were given our oath for Maeve to get her visa and become a US citizen. (We were not allowed to take video or pictures :( ) She is not a full citizen until we pass through immigration in Chicago and they stamp her passport. Today was very special and a little emotional. There were 39 US families who took the oath together. That means 39 children were given the opportunity to start a new life in the US with endless possibilities. It sounds silly when we are in the US to say "America is the land of opportunity and dreams," but when you see this part of the world, that saying has true meaning. I can't imagine Maeve's future had she stayed here forever. The US Ambassador to China was in town visiting and he gave us our oath. His brother adopted from China and he and his wife fostered a baby for one year until that baby was adopted. It was very special to have him here and he got a little emotional during the oath. He was originally in China in the early 1990s when adoptions weren't allowed. He helped change that rule and now ~70,000 children have been adopted to the US. This was a pretty powerful day!

I'm not sure how I feel about leaving tomorrow. I guess there is some sadness about Maeve leaving her home country, but there is so much more happiness! This is a beautiful country with lots of pride. I hope we convey that to her as she grows up.

We leave our hotel at 5:50 am tomorrow (another early day!!). Apparently the planners of these trips have never travelled with children! Anyway we would leave now if we could. We then fly to Hong Kong. We have a brief lay over and then fly to Chicago. Once in Chicago we have about 3 hrs until our flight home. We cannot wait!!!

This has been an amazing journey and very life changing for us. Thank you all for following along and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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Our new American Princess!!

Sad stories and Going Home Barbie

2009-03-11T06:25:00.012-06:00

We had another day of shopping today. We had to stay in our room from 9-12 this morning while our guide went to the US consulate on our behalf to turn in Maeve's paperwork for her visa. He called us at 12:15 and said all the "paperworks" went fine, so that is good. After that we walked all over the island to get some more deals on some "must have" items. We found a great shop here called "A Gift from China." This is a store that sells all hand made items and 100% of their profits go to sponsor special needs (waiting) children in a foster home that was started by the owner. It is a very special place and we bought lots of great gifts from them. I think you can also order online if anyone is interested at: http://www.agiftfromchina.com/ There is such an amazing need here in China to help these children. I know there is a need everywhere and all orphans deserve help, but we have been called to this place and feel the need to speak for these children. We had an experience today that reinforced our excitement that Maeve is coming to America where she can lead a wonderful, happy life.

We were shopping in one of the stores and the store owner asked us if Maeve was healthy.

We said "yes."

Then she asked how long we waited to adopt her. We said "2 years."

She then asked why some families said they waited 3.5 years while we only waited 2 years.

We then told her that Maeve was a "waiting child" and showed her Maeve's hands. She then winced her face and said, "Why you tell me she is healthy, when her hands look like that. Why you not wait for normal child?"

It was sooooo aggravating and just shows the mindset in this country that any physical abnormality makes the person "unworthy" of life. How annoying!!!

Another interesting story came from a family we met who toured their daughter's orphanage here in Guangdong province. We were not allowed to tour Maeve's orphanage in Yulin, but she was in a foster home most of time. Anyway, this family told us how sad it was to see crib after crib lined up with babies. The director of the orphanage told the family that the children who do not get adopted have two options in life. They may stay at the orphanage as a nanny caring for the other children or they may leave the orphanage for life on the streets and a job at a factory working long hours everyday for pennies. It is unbelievably devastating to see the poor here. This child's nanny was crying and telling the child that she was so happy the child would have a life better than the nanny. Wow, how powerful!!

Tomorrow we take Maeve's oath to treat her well and give her a great life in America. That should be an emotional day. We are so ready to head home and start our lives. Aidan, Cian and Fintan...we are almost there. Only 2 night-nights left!!!!
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The beautiful pool at our hotel. Unfortunately we didn't get any use out of this, but it looks nice!
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The courtyard of the White Swan.

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Maeve can SHOVE her mouth full!

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Lunch at Lucy's again. This is becoming our daily ritual.

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This is where we did our laundry (well, they did it) and stop by the 7-11 daily for snacks!!

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The "corner" in Shamian Island. You can't walk by this place with out the vendors yelling at you from the stores. "Pretty baby, please come in and look around." "You want pretty dress for your pretty baby?"

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Maeve outside the White Swan.

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These statues guard the Forbidden City in Beijing and are replicated all over China. They were in Nanning and are outside of the White Swan here in Guangzhou. This one symbolizes "mother."

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This Barbie was brought to our room today as a present from the hotel. It is a mom and her Chinese adopted daughter. The back of the box reads, "This souvenir is presented by Mattell (HK) Ltd to adopting parents of Chinese orphan children staying at the White Swan Hotel, Guangzhou, China." Every family who stays here goes home with one of these Barbies. A very great gift from a very great hotel. We will definitely miss this place!

Lazy Tuesday

2009-03-10T19:07:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday. It was a bit of a slow day and we didn't take many pictures. Then Maeve had a little meltdown last night and by the time we got her calmed down and into bed, I was too tired. Today the internet is not working great and it is taking foooorrrrreeeevvveeer to load a picture, so I have only put a few randoms up that occurred over the past few days.
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Maeve and Susie on the terrace along the Pearl River.
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Happy girl!!
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Maeve and I in front of the White Swan waterfall.
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This was yesterday at lunch. These smiles are difficult to catch on camera, but are priceless if you can capture them!!

Here comes the Sun!!

2009-03-09T06:13:00.014-06:00

Finally, a warm, sunny day in China. What a welcomed change! We had a very relaxing day. No specific appointments and lots of time to shop. We were able to get most of the things on our list marked off today. We didn't end up getting to the Pearl Market, but plan to go tomorrow. We did try to find the market on our own, but instead stumbled upon another market of sorts. This market sold a variety of live and dead animals, rodents and insects for your eating pleasure. It was very interesting. I couldn't convince Susie to try the scorpions, but Maeve almost did (not really!). We also did our red couch photos with our travel group. This is something that has become a tradition in the Chinese adoption community in America. Since all the families end up in Guangzhou and many of them stay at the White Swan, everyone gets their child's photo taken in traditional Chinese garb. Though Maeve was happy, she was 2 hours late for her nap, so she wasn't the most cooperative.

We are tired tonight, so I am off to bed. Have a great Monday!
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A balancing act. It is amazing to see what people can pile on a bicycle here.
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Hungry, anyone?
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I think those cats are ready for lunch and chicken is on the menu.
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Turtles or eels, tough decision...they both look great!
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Lots of raw meat hanging all around. Smells great!
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Susie outside of Lucy's. We ate lunch here today. We enjoyed watching the local people play hacky sack.
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I think taking this picture is an obligation for all adoptive families, so I included it here.
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Okay, now that is cute!
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Happy family!!
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Our travel group and all the newly adopted kids. Half of these kiddos are from Anhui province and half from Guangxi along with Maeve. We all toured together in Beijing and then met up again here in Guangzhou. Not all the kids were happy to be sitting here. It will be great to follow these kids as they all grow up.
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The beautiful White Swan waterfall.
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I had to throw this in. Whenever music plays (as was happening here) Maeve starts waving her arms in the air very slowly and very controlled. It looks very much like Tai Chi (sp?). We think her foster family must have done this alot and she watched. It is very cute!

Sunday in Guangzhou

2009-03-08T07:55:00.009-06:00

Today we started with the best breakfast buffet in China. Nanning had some great food, but the White Swan hotel definately knows how to fill a stomach in the morning. It is just a great atmostphere here and everyone is so friendly. This morning we sat by a mom who is adopting a 4 year old boy. He has bilateral club feet. This is her 6th child and 4th adoption. She was just a great lady and had lots of great advice for us. Everyone we meet has a different story and different path that led them here. It is so very interesting.

This morning we toured the Chen Family Temple. The Chen family is/was the largest/wealthiest, most famous family in Guangdong province. They had this large temple built where they lived, studied and worshiped. It was very cool. Maeve had a great time walking all over the place. It was a chilly day and there was a continuous mist all day. It didn't damper our fun though! After the temple we stopped at a very nice shop and picked up some great things for Maeve.

Tonight we did another group dinner (all the Great Wall families...about 24 families!) a Thai restaurant called the Cow and Bridge. It was excellent. I could eat Pad Thai everyday so I was in heaven. Food is so cheap here and our meal was ~$20 (this was pretty nice restaurant too!). After dinner we spent some time in the play room and then gave Maeve a bath. She still hates the bath, but it is getting better. Tomorrow we have a "free" day, but plan on doing a lot of shopping. Susie is going to hit the pearl market and hit it hard!! Things continue to be going great here with Maeve and everyday she seems to emerge more and more. She is really attaching to us and we are so thankful that she was in a foster home instead of the orphanage. She is right on target for her age developmentally and physically. We keep saying she is going to give her brothers a run for their money!!
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Front of the Chen Family Temple.
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The large front doors. Very ornate!
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This is Maeve's "escape" pose. As she is trying to get out of our arms, she twists her body around and wiggles out of your grasp. Slippery little sucker!
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Okay, I guess we won't complain about our beds here in China as this is apparently what the royalty used to sleep in.
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Chen Family Temple courtyard. Every inch of this place has amazing detail.
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Maeve knows how to nap during every tour!
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Goofing around in our room. She is very smiley, but it has been hard to catch it on camera. This was a good one.
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Dinner at the Cow and Bridge. Yummy!

Hello Guangzhou!!

2009-03-07T08:18:00.011-06:00

We left our hotel bright and early this morning for the Nanning airport. Our guide, Michael has been so great and had breakfast ready for us on our van ride to the airport. Maeve did great on the airplane and we waved goodbye to Guangxi province as we flew away. She quickly fell asleep shortly after take off and slept the rest of the way (only ~45 min flight). Guangzhou is in Guangdong Province. It is very different looking from Guangxi and Nanning. We are staying in a part of Guangzhou called Shamian Island. It sits along side the Pearl River and is quite a site! It is really beautiful and many of the buildings have British influence in their architecture. There is very little traffic here and it is the US adoption "capital" so it is full of US families and their newly adopted children. I am sooooo comfortable here. Everyone is very friendly and strikes up conversation with us everywhere we go.

We arrived at our hotel, the White Swan (soooooo nice!) around 10:30am, dropped our luggage and headed to Maeve's physical exam and visa picture. She was not happy for the picture and screamed the whole time, so the picture is horrible. Oh well! The physical exam is a total joke. It doesn't help that I am a pediatric nurse practitioner and Susie a pediatric nurse, but the "tests" they ran on Maeve were useless. The hearing test (if you can even call it that!) was to squeak a toy by her ear and see if she turned her head. Well, she is 17 months old, so if she sees you holding a toy by her head, she is going to turn it regardless of if it makes noises or not. Whatever!! Then the "doctor" who did the physical exam, just couldn't get over her hands and feet. He was making me very frustrated and he kept getting our guide to translate for him. He wanted to make sure we knew about her hands and feet (duh!!) and then told our guide that we need to make sure she has surgery when she arrives home. Wow, thank you for that wonderful advice. Anyway, Maeve was miserable the whole time and I couldn't get out of that rats hole fast enough!! Hopefully that will be our only poor experience in Guangzhou.

The weather continues to be chilly here, but better than Nanning. We had a great time today walking around the island and have already purchased some things. We mainly did a search of what everyone has to offer and then made our list back at the hotel of what we really want to get. We have lots of downtime this week until our visa appointment on Thursday so we have plenty of shopping time.

For dinner we met up with some of the other groups that we originally met in Beijing and headed to Lucy's (the "American" restaurant here). It was excellent. (I don't think I have had a bad meal in China) It was great to see everyone's babies and hear their stories. The adoption process is really an adventure and even here is China, every experience is different. These kids have been through unfathomable losses in their lives and their resiliance is inspiring. I don't honestly think I would be as strong as these children and to see them all so happy is pretty emotional!

After dinner we walked around some more and looked out over the Pearl River. It is gorgeous at night, all lit up with boats and lights. Our room over looks the river too and the view is amazing. We then found the play room in our hotel and let Maeve run off some energy. This hotel is just so nice and we are so happy to be here!!
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Maeve's first plane ride. One down, three more to go until we are home!
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This is the awful physical exam room that all adopted children must experience in order to come home. Thank goodness that is over!!
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Our lovely room, much bigger and more up to date than Nanning.
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Daytime view of the Pearl River from our hotel room. At night all the boats and buildings light up and sparkle.
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Nap is done and this girl is ready for dinner. She ate an entire bowl of congee, a piece of fried fish, frech fries and rice for dinner. She can really put some food away!
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Mommy and Maeve at Lucy's.
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Enjoying the views of the Pearl River at night.
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Having fun in the play room.
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She loves the abicus. In some of her pictures we were given she was playing with one too.
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Goodnight, I love Guangzhou!!