November 16, 2012 - Mystery Reader

So, I volunteered to be a mystery reader in Ashlyn's class on October 26th, but because of Hurricane Sandy, the schools were closed.  So this past Friday, November 16th, I was able to go in and do it because I had worked so much the week before, I was able to offset Friday.  I gave the teacher 10 clues about me, so the students had to try and guess who was coming in.  The last clue gave it away for a lot of the kids (I have a 10 and 9 year old daughter). 

I chose the book "Three Names of Me."  Very well written story about a Chinese girl who was adopted by an American family.  It describes how she had three names; one when she was born by her Chinese birth parents that was whispered to her, one that she was named at the orphanage, and one that she was named by her adoptive parents.  It's a beautiful story, and it gave me the opportunity to stop throughout the book and answer questions and relate it to Ashlyn.  The kids had a lot of questions and they were so cute!  The illustrations were very well done too, and was said so by many of the students.  If you're interested, the book is written by Mary Cummings and Illustrated by Lin Wang.  It also has some Chinese words in it that most kids have probably already heard.

We went to a birthday party yesterday and I happened to ask the mom if she had heard that I had been the mystery reader.  She said that her child was telling her all about it and started crying while telling the story.  Kids are so sweet and it's really cool when you can touch a child's heart like that!

Gotcha Day Picture Video (2 years)

Just finished making our Gotcha Day "video" that Jason started 2 years ago.  I completed it when I was going through our computer folders trying to find something and found this instead.  Brings back so many good memories.  We just passed our 2 year Gotcha Day anniversary last month.  I'm so grateful that God gave us these two beautiful children.  This video depicts two days only...Gotcha Day and Adoption Day.  Hope you enjoy!

http://youtu.be/1et_gslDZMw

Adoption

I just saw this video and wanted to share. I really, really want a little boy...but alas, our two girls are a handful right now. Just found out that Kaylyn might have thyroid issues already, so we have to go see a pediatric endocronologist for her. I'll save that until I actually get some real results and answers (blood work shows high TSH levels). And, Ashlyn's ear is still healing from the first surgery and will need another at the end of the year.

I really feel that our family is not complete yet, but God will have to open doors and open Jason's heart for another.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ijggNs2Ask&feature=youtu.be

Adoption Talk with Class

So, today I went to Ashlyn's 1st grade class and talked with them about Ashlyn's adoption. Ashlyn loved being the center of attention and the kids liked hearing about everything. They were funny with the stories they told and also about the adoption. A lot of the girls said they wanted a play date with Ashlyn. It was too funny.

Awhile back I made a scrapbook on "10 questions about my adoption", and this is what we shared with the class. Then we shared a scrapbook on the actual China trip. The kids were very curious. I also asked them if they sometimes had a hard time understanding her. Some raised their hands and some didn't. I told them to touch their tongues to the roof of their mouth. Then I asked them if it felt hard. All of them shook their heads yes and then I explained that Ashlyn's was not hard, and that it was soft. So this sometimes makes it hard for her to use her tongue properly to make certain sounds, no matter what language she's speaking. I also told them that she is still working on learning more and more of the English language, but she already knows a lot.

I was so nervous about doing this and wasn't sure how much to tell them, but I was very honest and forthcoming, and the kids seemed to really get it...hopefully! I was happy I did it, and Ashlyn loved showing all the pictures.