Today was the first day of our 2008-2009 school year. Yes, we are starting a little late, but because of our trip to China, we didn't finish our 2007-2008 year until August 8th. We all needed a break, and I needed the month to order books and prepare for the new year. For the last few weeks, I've been staying up W.A.Y. too late organizing and planning. We are beginning Tapestry of Grace's Year 2 Redesigned which looks amazing, but it is also one of Tapestry's most rigorous years. I love the classical education philosophy, but planning for each new year is always a little frightening as I can never imagine how in the world we are going to fit everything in to our days. Thankfully, it all seems to fall in place, and today we had a very successful first day!

We always start each new school year with a scavenger hunt for the kids' new "Study Buddy" :o). When we began this tradition, Brittany and Brant's Study Buddy was usually a new Beanie Baby. My, how things have changed! This year, Brittany got a backpack for her new laptop (which is actually her real sophmore year Study Buddy). Last week, Brant announced that he was too old for a Study Buddy. Thank goodness, because for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything for him. So, he got a 4-pack of Monster energy drink and some gum to assist him in his studying :0< !

As you can imagine, Brielle was SUPER excited about starting school! The last few weeks, as I was preparing for school, she kept asking, "You be teacher to me and Ji Hao?" And when I replied in the affirmative, she squealed at the top of her lungs! Brock Ji Hao went along with her excitement, but I'm sure he didn't quite understand what all the loud squeals were about.

(viewer caution: over the years, my Back-to-School Banners have become much less ornate and much more crooked...please don't look too closely)

My Students...

The most eager of students with their Study Buddies!
(yes...as you can tell, there was a very last minute run to Walmart)

Brock Ji Hao doing his "Get Ready for the Code" phonics book...yea!

I didn't realize how much fun it would be to do Kindergarten again!

He Makes Me Smile!

Yesterday was Max's birthday ... As I was thinking about ways to make his day special, I began to think about how HAPPY he makes me. I've recently noticed how I am nearly always smiling when he is with me, when I'm anticipating his call home at lunchtime, and when he is almost home from work at night (so my crowsfeet and other "smile lines" are his fault). What a HUGE blessing to be married to someone with whom I love to spend time!

Happy Birthday, Max!

Last week, Brittany and a good friend boarded a plane headed for New Jersey to visit their best (and boy-crazy) friends. They've been spending their days and nights in the family's RV -- can you begin to imagine how much fun that is for a bunch of teenage girls?!? Brittany calls home every night, and I can't hear a word she is saying because there is so much laughter and goofiness in the background. She'll most definitely be updating her blog with all the details once she returns home. I'm praying I don't have to listen to stories about Prince Caspian, the Jonas Brothers (who are they, anyway????), etc. for weeks and weeks to come. Yikes!



We finally wrapped up our 2007-2008 school year on 8-08-08. Thankfully, because you'll note that is also the date of the opening of the Olympic Games. Our family (like yours, I'm sure) has been up L A T E each night watching the latest Olympic events. It's been fun to share and discuss all the happenings with the kids. Brittany and Brant have been very "into" this Olympics. It's also been great seeing it all take place in Brock Ji Hao's and Brielle's home land!

Brock Ji Hao is aware that the Olympics are being held in China and points to the TV and says "Zhong guo" ("China" in Mandarin). He has especially enjoyed watching the swimming (I guess he takes after his Aunt Michele and Grandma T. :o) ) The last few times I've had him out in the pool, he has made HUGE advances in his swimming. Today, I realized that it is most likely from watching the Olympic swimming. He is now swimming around the pool with water wings on, and today he swam with his face under water. He also asked for goggles and even went under water (in the shallow end) to pick up quarters and diving rings. Thank you, Michael Phelps!

Brock continues to be doing fantastically! We truly could not imagine a better adjustment. As a matter of fact, there really doesn't seem to have been an adjustment - for any of us. He slid beautifully and perfectly into our family.

I've been working a little with him on some basic learning like letters, letter sounds, numbers, etc. I've ordered his "curriculum" for this school year, and it'll be so much fun teaching him. He picks up on things very fast. He continues to speak more and more English and is even stringing words together. Today, he caught on to the phrase, "How are you?" after saying, "Hi!", so he continually (over and over again) said to each of us, "Hi! How are you?" So cute! Older child adoption has been so much fun!

Brielle continues to adore her new big brother. One morning, at breakfast, they were chit-chatting in their own special way of communicating, and I asked Brielle: "Brielle, what do you think of your big brother Brock Ji Hao?" She smiled shyly and answered, "He's soooo cute!". The first thing she asks when I go into her room in the morning is, "Where's Hao?" (she still calls him "Hao" alot...that is what we called him before bringing him home). She follows him around, and the two of them play and laugh together all day long. Brock Ji Hao has been such a blessing to our little Brielle. I often stop and watch or listen to them and wonder why I was so blessed to be given the privilege of raising these two precious Chinese children.

If you saw the Chapman family on CNN's Larry King Live a few nights ago, I'm sure you'd agree that God has already begun a great work through their (seemingly senseless) tragedy. Little Maria has touched and reached so many people with the hope we have in the Gospel of Christ - the only hope we truly have!

Have you seen this clip recorded by Larry King the night after interviewing the Chapmans? Please pray for Larry along with any of his viewers who have not yet made the "leap to blind faith"... but... "wish (they) had".

Incredible!

More from Steven Curtis Chapman...

...regarding their family tragedy and God's love for orphans.

See also the link below...

Please Keep Praying for the Chapmans

In case you missed the Chapman family being interviewed on Good Morning America this morning, here is a link to the segment: GMA Interview

Heartbreaking...Honest...Hopeful...

Please continue to pray for this family as they seek to glorify God in the midst of their suffering.

Tomorrow evening, the Chapmans will be appearing on Larry King Live. Yet another opportunity for the truth of God's Word and the hope we have in It to be proclaimed and heard!

I am NOT a big fan of appointments.

I love spending time with the girl who does our hair, but I don't even like the thought of hair appointments looming on my calendar. I'm not sure why ???

Maybe I just don't like to be "somewhere" at a "specified" time ?? Maybe I don't like the routine of my day interrupted ?? Maybe I don't like the
W A I T I N G in the Waiting Room ?? Maybe I don't like ALL of the paperwork I have to fill out (note: in the last two years, I've doubled the amount of paperwork I need to fill out for my children).

Sooooo...I really had to psych myself up for all of the potential appointments that we'd have to add to our calendar with our new addition to the family. Surprisingly, I've found that his appointments don't seem to bring about that all-too-familiar feeling of appointment-dread. It seems part of the reason I don't like appointments might be because, for the most part, it is really not necessary to be there (thank you, Lord), therefore it might feel like a waste of time ?? Anyway, I've found out that it is so very rewarding to take Brock to all his necessary appointments. It feels good to be actively doing something for him.

This week's calendar had a few days of appointments scratched in. We started our week with early morning appointments for Brock and Brielle at the pediatrician's office. Brielle just needed her 3 year old well-child check-up, and Brock was there for his first visit to the pediatrician. I realized that Brielle has not been to the doctor since her 2 year old check-up (another thank you, Lord). She has been so very healthy. She was so cute and cooperative doing the little developmental checks the nurse asked her to do (standing on one leg, drawing circles, drawing a cross, etc.). Brock's physical exam went great, and the doctor is now ordering the routine post-adoption labwork. We'll meet with her again once his blood work is completed. I really wish I had brought my camera, because the two of them were so adorable sitting up on the exam table together.

Here are their stats (as of 7-28-08):

Brielle - 3 years old:
Weight - 36 lbs ... 90th percentile
Height - 39 in ... 90th percentile

Brock - 8 years old:
Weight - 44 lbs ... 10th percentile
Height - 48 in ... 15th percentile

Talk about tipping the scales at both ends!!

There is only one three year old in every ten that is taller and weighs more than our little (can I still use that word for her?) Brielle! However, nine out of every ten eight year olds are taller and weigh more than our (very) little Brock! Both kiddos are said to be "well-proportioned" as their weight and height percentiles are the same or nearly the same.

These percentiles as based on American children - Asian children have a completely different chart (hmmm....where would Brielle be on that chart?). The doctor told me that she is just happy that Brock even hits the American chart, as often internationally adopted older children do not. They do, however, typically grow a lot in the first year or so home, so it'll be interesting to see how he plots in a year. With the way he is eating up all our American food (he's a great eater!), I'd be surprised if he didn't move up rather quickly.

With doctors appointments behind us, it was time for the next big appointment day of the week - all FIVE of us at the dentist! Does the thought of that make anyone else shudder?

After filling out ALL the paperwork for the 4 B's and me, it was a fun three and a half hours of running back and forth between exam rooms, checking in on kids and listening to the dentist's diagnosis/prognosis for each of them. Thankfully, NO ONE had any cavities! Isn't that amazing?!? Not even our so very sweet and brave Brock Ji Hao! He had spent almost 8 years in an orphanage in China, and that guy is cavity free! Just another thing I'd like to add to the "thank you for..." list I'm complying in my head to someday give the staff at the Wuxi City SWI.

I guess I need to clarify that the "NO ONE had any cavities" statement was made with some slight hesitation because little Miss Brielle only had a "happy visit" at the dentist. This means an all-positive visit, minimal cleaning with the hygenist and without the dentist even checking her teeth. She did GREAT and was so adorable in the big chair (no camera, AGAIN). However, leading up to our dentist appointment, I had been talking to Brielle about what to expect at the dentist, etc. Each time she would say, "I'm going to tell him that Dots and Mike and Ikes make my teeth hurt." It's true....I feed my little child candy (potty bribery)....and, yes, the candy makes her teeth hurt! I'm sure she's got something going on in there, and I told the dentist so, but he insisted that the visit remain "happy". We'll see what happens next visit !?!

Soooooo....could Brock's teeth be cavity-free because his caretakers were not bribing him with Dots and Mike and Ikes??? Oh boy, I'm learning so much about parenting and children from this kid. Someday I'll post more about all he's teaching me!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Today (July 20th) was Brock Ji Hao's 8th birthday! As I prepared and decorated, I couldn't help but remember how, during the agonizing wait, I longed to have Brock here at home in time to celebrate his birthday. I am so thankful we were able to do just that!

Because Brielle's birthday is just three days before Brock's, he was able to watch all the pomp and circumstance related to Goodrich family birthdays. We explained to him that his birthday was just three days away, and that he would be turning eight years old. He seemed to understand and proceeded to point to Brielle's b-day signs, crepe paper, etc., stating "Ji Hao" with each point. He also held up eight fingers and repeated "eight" over and over. So, when his big day arrived, he was definitely ready!

I've been reading, reading, reading to Brock, and he has really taken a liking to Curious George. So, this Curious George Rides a Bike is quite appropriate for the occasion!

Just unveiled..........

(Do you think he likes it???)

When we went to pick out Brielle's cake, Brock saw the Cars cake and excitedly pointed to it and then to himself. Sooooo, Cars it was!

Happy 8th Birthday, sweet son!

We are honored and so very blessed to be able to share all your special days and moments...

...now and forever!

Happy 3rd B-day, Little Princess!

Last week (July 17th), Brielle celebrated her 3rd birthday! She had been asking about her birthday for quite some time, had memorized that it was "July 17th", and was more than ready when her big day finally arrived.

As I've posted in the past, Brielle likes The Wonder Pets (as do the rest of us), and so I had decided to give her a Wonder Pets themed birthday. I found a recipe to make the W.P.'s Flyboat cake, wrote down everything I needed, and headed to Walmart.

Unfortunately, Brielle had other plans. While at Walmart, she saw "princesses" balloons and other party paraphernalia. She immediately and repeatedly said, "I want a princesses cake". I tried to talk her out of it, but she remained firm. With my hopes for a Wonder Pet Birthday dashed, I submitted to a not-yet-three-year-old's wishes. After all, she has been saying, "I looooooove princesses" for the last several weeks. I'm not sure where she got that (Cindy??? :o) ?????). "Princesses" are not quite my thing (ugh)...BUT, I found out that they sure do make a low-stress birthday theme.

Our Princess is THREE!

When Brielle first saw her cake, she put both hands over her mouth and said,

"Oh my goodness, Mommy...it's so beautiful!"

That was precious and priceless

(and made my hostility :o) over the Wonder Pets-cake-that-wasn't quickly melt away!)

Blowing out the candles...

Big brother joins in to help...
Brielle and Brock have spent hours painting and drawing together on Brielle's new art easel.

Happy 3rd Birthday, little Princess!

Thank you for bringing us so many smiles and so much joy!