There's No Place Like Home



David was sick and I was doing
anything I could to keep ChunMing 
entertained



Our trip home was as simple as clicking our heels together 3 times and repeating, "There's no place like home."... well, sort of.  Alright, the truth is we were so glad when it was over.  It was pretty long and grueling.  Once on the ferry we were feeling a bit more rejuvenated and excited to see the rest of our children and tell them all the sordid details we didn't add to this blog.  (You can't blame me; it is public.)

  

The 1st ferry ride of many


ChunMing greeted his brothers and sisters with smiles.  He wandered a bit exploring his new surroundings, understanding this was his new home.  He was a little timid, but we didn't recognize any somberness or sadness.  He truly seemed happy to be here.  He was exhausted and went to sleep with no problem.  Unfortunately, he awoke awhile later throwing up and didn't stop for a couple of days. 

I thought maybe it was a blessing in disguise as he had to rely on my care since David had to go to work the next day.  ChunMing allowed me to take care of him and I believed we were making progress until he started getting stronger;  he then dismissed me and embraced Baba once again.  He even included our two oldest boys as readily as he accepted his Baba, but he was equally guarded with our three girls as he was with me.


William was patient with this new stranger for the first few days. 

 He seemed to recognize him from the photos we had up on our wall and called him by name. 

 Once he came to terms with the fact that ChunMing was here to stay, the jealousy set in.  Although there

have been plenty of opportunity, unfortunately I do not have a photo of Jordan with a boy on each arm.

Wednesday morning I woke ChunMing up with repeated kisses on his face and an "I love you" and he greeted me with a beautiful sleepy smile in return!  It was all I could do to not start crying.  I often told him in English, knowing he couldn't understand, that I could be patient and had all eternity to wait on him, but I lied.  I wanted it now! It now seemed as if the barrier was thinning.

Each morning since, hand in hand with mamma, ChunMing has waved goodbye to Jordan and David with no sadness.  Ashton has returned to school in Idaho (and might I add, his beautiful girlfriend whom we can't wait to meet).  ChunMing's connection with us girls is getting stronger everyday.  At the moment, we are all busily engaged in school and loving every new "first" with ChunMing. 



This is how we found Ashton almost the same time each night; skyping his sweet girlfriend


Here is what we have learned about ChunMing:

*Radiant-  He can light up a room.



Need I say more? (he doesn't wear glasses by the way, he is playing with moms)

 *Loves to laugh and have fun-  Even when it is locking his little brother outside

*Likes to be tickled and wrestle-  With a big smile, he refuses to lift his arms when I am changing his clothes because he knows a tickle is coming.

*Is very determined- I took the boys to the park this week and ChunMing had to experience everything he saw, including the rope walk. 

*Has a sweet disposition, yet can be quite headstrong-  When he wants something he can't have (which isn't all that often at this point), he gives a sweet tantrum.  No screaming or yelling, just fake tears, a pouty face, and an occasional lying on the ground kicking, or hitting his legs with his fists.  Oh, if only all my children manifested their frustration in such a mild way.  We always have to work to resist smiling; he is so darn cute.

*Looooves popcorn (like his mama!)-  I made a bowl of popcorn, which he carefully guarded.  When I took a handful he looked at me with an unhappy face, placed the bowl in his lap, and turned his back so I couldn't take more.  He ended up downing 2 batches, while eating with both hands.


William doesn't have a chance. 
 ChunMing took out a couple handfuls and placed it on the table for William's share.


*Smart-  Boy does this kid catch on fast. He has often corrected us on our mistakes or taught our girls how to do something they were unsure of.  He's pretty amazing.

*Enjoys music-  At his request, we often listen to children's music in Mandarin while driving in the car and have had dance sessions in the kitchen.  He learned how to hook up his sister's ipod after watching her the first time and does it quite often, to her chagrin.  While waiting at the airport on our way home, he was enthralled by a young man playing his guitar.  He stood less than a foot in front of him, watching his every move.

While I was putting William's diaper back on for the 20th time that day,
 ChunMing went into his sister's room and re-appeared moments later, 
with headphones in his ears and the music blaring.   
(Ashton, the typical resourceful male that he is, discovered one more use for duct tape while we were in China - added diaper security.  The problem with this solution is you need scissors to change the diaper)

*Sings along with any music he hears, even when he doesn't have a clue what the words are.

*Likes to paint-  We did a little painting and then I took out the play dough to keep him busy so I could get dishes done, but he found it difficult to work with his hands.  He tired quickly and took out the paints once again, proudly showing me each and every piece of artwork.



ChunMIng painting in his sister's glasses. 

 *Has a thing for glasses-  He wore mine for much of our China adventures and has now commandeered his sisters

*Beginning to embrace story time-  We read most nights to our children, which he had no interest in at first, but now seems to enjoy.

*Gets a kick out of bubbles:  bubbles in the bathtub, bubbles from a wand, or bubbles on his hands from soap.  He loves them all!

*Likes things clean and orderly

*Loves to play with and throw rocks

*Is very helpful-  Even while in China, he insisted on taking things off of the table and handing them to the waitress' when we were done.  He helps me vacuum, fold laundry, pick up toys, etc.  The caretakers at the orphanage even told us that is why he was with younger children; he was so helpful to them.


*Would ride in the wagon all day if we had the energy-  He especially loves when I pull him while running

*Wears his socks 24 hours and his shoes whenever he is awake

*Doesn't like dill pickles (William's favorite), soda (no biggie since we never drink it), or our daily green smoothie (Major problem since we live on these things - we'll work on that :)

*Doesn't love ice cream, but ate up the frozen yogurt we got the first day of school

*We must be at constant watch as he is very unstable

*Keeps William in check by making sure Momma knows his every step that's out of line

*Is an adventurous eater.  At first he was quite picky and we were worried about his weight, but now he wants to eat all day and glories in the ability to take something whenever he likes.  I might add that he doesn't eat vegetables.  This morning he wanted hummus and crackers for breakfast and for lunch he put mayonnaise in his rice.



He's lovin chocolate milk.  He gets out the chocolate and soy milk and then hands them to me with a big smile. 
He will even get a large cup for me so I don't skimp. 


*Enjoys playing in the sand-  We had a family photo taken at the beach prior to Ashton leaving for school and Jordan leaving to serve a 2 year mission in the Philippines.  It was the first time I have seen ChunMing willingly take off his socks and shoes when he wasn't getting into the bath.  He later discovered sand once again at a local park.

*Doesn't enjoy regular swing seats, but loves to swing in a baby seat-  One local park even had large seated swings for the disabled which he tolerated, but it wasn't until the second park of the week that he discovered the baby seats.  He couldn't get enough.  It was all the fun without the instability.

Each day is full of new adventures for ChunMing and our family.  He is always busy exploring and discovering at the same fast pace as William.  One distracts me by embracing his creativity with a tube of lipstick on the walls while the other is discovering how the washing machine works, from the inside.   Between he and William, I am exhausted at the end of the day, but wouldn't trade it for the world.  Sometimes I think this might keep me young and other times I am sure I am getting old before my time.  It's a constant balancing act and there have been plenty of difficult moments, but I have learned over and over that the greatest gifts my Heavenly Father has granted me, haven't come easy.   In fact, today ChunMing came up to me, grabbed my hand and led me to his sister's room.  He was pointing at the wall, so I was looking for a bug, or something amiss.  I picked him up and he pointed to a sign my daughter had typed up, printed, and taped to her wall some time ago.  I am not sure what he was trying to tell me, but the message I received was loud and clear.