A delicious and dangerous confectionery find...

I was recently given a gift of the most delicious sweet treats I have ever tasted. They are made by world-renown chocolatier, Fran Bigelow. She makes delicious chocolate truffles, but she is best known for the item I recently enjoyed...her famous hand-dipped, sea salt caramels. They are to die for!

The company's website describes them as follows: "Soft, fresh caramels hand-dipped in 56% pure dark chocolate and sprinkled with flavorful gray sea salt harvested off the Brittany coast".

What more can I say? You can find them at Fran's Chocolates. I've already ordered boxes for two friends and I will definitely be sending these out for Christmas gifts as well. They are expensive, but a great indulgence for yourself or to send to someone you love. The salt and the deep, rich caramel meld into the perfect salty-sweet combination. Truly a tiny treasure!

And in other news....

Miss Landry Sue is a big girl now! We've gone two days wearing big girl panties and she is (dare I type this....) Potty Trained!! Yay, yay, YAY!!! I'd post a picture of her, flashing her new big girl briefs...but that would just be weird. :) But, rest assured, it is true and we are all thrilled -- most of all Landry!

New laptop makes for happy mommy....

I'm a Mac girl. I've always used one and hopefully always will. I also only function with a lap top. Desk computers don't work for me anymore. With four kids (and even before Laney) I need my computer to go with me. Sometimes the only time I have to check email is when we're in the backyard! LOL!

Anyway, I've owned two so far. An old clamshell iBook...in tangerine (a la Felicity). I LOVED that computer and had it for five years (which is about 40 in "laptop" years). It was literally cracked on the top and I finally had Troy pry it from my hands and say, "Honey, I love you. This computer is dead. Let it go...."

Then I owned my first PowerBook. Again, love at first touch and I used it for almost four years. I was very attached to it. LOL! Right before we left for China, my PowerBook died. *cue sad song......* I was totally bummed, but Troy said, "We leave for China in two days. No worries or stress about this. I'll buy you a new one as soon as we get home. Don't even think about it until we get back."

And, my sweet dh, true to his word, bought me a fabulous new MacBook Pro as soon as we got back to the States. I've been patiently waiting (almost 3 weeks now...), counting down the days and limping along, using his Dell laptop. (I don't get those machines!! Who can use a computer that uses backslashes for everything, doesn't let you drag & click and has a "ticky-clicky" keyboard? AACK! Where is my precious MAC?)

Well, it arrived TODAY! I'm so excited. I even got a case for it, which is by the clever people at Speck Products. Love their stuff! My iPod is in one of their acrylic cases and it has been seamless and sturdy for almost 2 years. Now they make the hard acrylic cases for the 15" MacBook Pros...and they come in colors! I picked out the cheerful Cherry red.



Some die-hard Mac fans out there find this to be sacrilege -- covering the beautiful brushed silver case with plastic. Sort of like putting tin foil over the Mona Lisa. I hear you. I do. Macs are nothing if they're not sleek & sexy. And yes, if you didn't understand that sentence, then you're not a Mac person. However, I have four kids and my computer is often in the kitchen. Having a fork drop on it is not at all unusual, so a case is a great idea for somebody like me. And if you need one, the folks at Speck make it fun! :)

The blog is changing....

As you can see, I've changed the name of our blog. Our trip to China is now complete (can't believe it!)...but the adventure continues! I have come to realize (through your sweet posts, notes, emails and calls) how many people have followed my blog and enjoyed my ramblings. It is so good for me, as a mom and as a writer, to have this place to come to at the end of my day. Even though this blog will now change direction (from adoption blog to family-of-six blog), I will still have the address stay the same. So if you've enjoyed popping in from time to time, please continue to do so!

I'm off to spend some quality time with my dear husband. Today was a CRAZY day. Lily has her riding lessons on Wednesday mornings, and then Lil, Colbster & Landry are all in swim classes on Wednesday nights. Whew! But tomorrow will be here soon, so I'm off to toss in one more load of laundry (does it EVER stop?) and then settle in for some quiet, downtime with Troy.

A few more from the day...

Colby working on his printing....


Lily doing copy work


Laney...falling asleep in her high chair after lunch


Bright eyed and ready to play after her nap

First Day of School.....

Today was our official first day of school! We are rowing "How To Make an Apple Pie & See the World" this week and the kids are loving it. Lily rowed this book 2 years ago, so she remembers it and Colby is enjoying it so much too. It is going to take me a few weeks to get into my new "groove" of two students and two toddlers (ACK!! LOL!), but overall it was a great day. Here are a few pictures...


Colby -- in the big K!


Lily -- lovely 2nd grader


Brother and sister


Landry -- photographer's assistant, helping the big kids smile

Like she has always been here...

It's almost 11PM and it's been a long day, so I don't have time to upload pictures tonight, but I'll try to do that tomorrow. However, I did need to come in and journal for just a minute.

It's hard to articulate how much Laney is loved by this family! She is becoming more and more "a part" of our gang each day. This afternoon, she was playing with Landry and giggling and laughing and she looked at me and my heart just melted. I can't imagine our lives without this precious treasure! She is a sweet as she is adorable, and she feels more and more like she has been with us forever.

I was worried. I'll admit it. I was worried before we left for China, that I might somehow love Laney less...or differently....or something...than my my biological children. I wasn't quite sure how the emotions of adoption worked out and how I would feel holding an 18 month old child I had just met. But I can assure you...I'm falling head over heels in love with her and she is my daughter. I love her as deeply and as tenderly as my other three. I have four blessings and my heart and hands are full.

Off to gaze at her for just a few more minutes. I love watching my kids when they're asleep....

A few things from today...

Today is my "mommy" day. I've recovered from jet lag. I'm unpacked. My house is in order, and all of Laney's initial doctor's appointments are finished.

So, today I'm working on getting me put back together. I've got a massage at 10 (booked before we left for China in anticipation of re-entry....LOL!), and I have a hair appointment this afternoon. Then, Troy & I are taking the kids to my favorite teacher's store to finish buying our "back-to-school" items. I still need to get a few Big Chief tablets, large pencils for Colby, and some things to decorate the kitchen for our 1st day of school next week.

Yesterday, I went to Target and bought all of the little things I needed for school and fun supplies for the kids. I also grabbed a big boy backpack for Colby. I think he'll be quite pleased! I'm off to take a shower and get dressed, but for now, here are a few pictures from this morning...



Laney making her funny face. It looks like she is crying, but she is cracking up!



Looking cute....


After a big breakfast of pancakes, it's time for a nap in sister's arms....

A few more pictures...

Daddy and Laney, taking a morning nap together in the kitchen.


Laney and her friend Jules playing at the kitchen table. Julia is 9 months old and Laney is 18 months. Pretty close in size! Laney does have more hair. :) Aren't they so cute together?



Laney is wondering how many more pictures Mommy is going to take of her. The answer is lots and lots sweet girl!





I almost got rid of this little Leap Pad learning station/table when Landry outgrew it, but I'm so glad I didn't! Laney loves it. It's the perfect height for her right now and she has a blast making all the sounds and lights go.

Lots and lots of good fats...

Laney is our mighty mouse child. Tiny but strong! We're happy about the strong, but we definitely need to help her get a little bigger too. We have been very blessed with an excellent pediatrician. She has cared for all our children from day one, but she is also one of the top two leading specialists in our city for international adoption medical issues. Isn't God amazing? We picked this pediatrician 8 years ago, and now we have a daughter from China who needs extra-special attention and we have the *perfect* doctor. So awesome!

Anyway, she has encouraged us to load Laney up with as much good, whole foods as she'll eat...paying close attention to healthy fats. She has not had really any fat in her diet up to this point. She needs it for weight, height, nerve health, hair/nails, etc. Even in the 2.5 weeks we've had her with us, I've noticed a huge change in her hair. It was very dry and coarse when we received her, but now it is starting to get shiny and soft. Her skin is looking better too! Pink in her cheeks and a little more roundness in her frame. It's exciting to see her getting healthier each day. And this kid can eat! Yesterday she had 1/2 of an avocado, 1 small banana, and two scrambled eggs for breakfast. Isn't that amazing?

Bath time...

Laney is doing so well. I'm still getting everything organized and settled from the trip, but we're having a great time! Troy has two more weeks at home before he goes back to work (5 weeks of paternity leave has been awesome!), so we're taking full advantage of the family time. This next week will be filled with the beginning of fall swim lessons, Lily's riding lessons and I'll be working on organizing our fall semester of school. We're starting September 24th...about 3 weeks later than normal but that's just fine.

Here are three pictures of Laney enjoying her play time in the bathtub. She was NOT a fan of the water when we first got her, but she has started to get really into it and now she squeals with joy when she sees me filling the tub. I'm so thankful, since my other three are water fanatics.

Sisters playing together....and learning to like the car seat

Driving home from the airport...

When we arrived at the airport, we were met by our precious children, my parents, my sister and brother-in-law and two of my awesome girlfriends. We were so bedraggled and emotionally drained, and so thankful to be home! I made sure Troy was holding Laney when we came off the plane, because I wanted to be able to grab each of my children and give them huge bear hugs. Lily & Colby were thrilled...jumping up and down and squealing. Landry was a bit more reserved, but looked so relieved to see us. Laney was a gem and just smiled at everyone. She went right to Lily and let her hold her, and then held hands w/ Lily & Colby and walked around a bit. It was a joyful, overwhelming home coming. I was a sobbing mess, but it was all good! (I have some good pictures of our home coming, but I have to upload them from other people's cameras, since I wasn't the one taking the pictures. I'll share them in a day or two).

Here are a few pictures from our drive home. Even though Troy was so tired, it was important to him that we drive home together...just the six of us. It was awesome to see each seat in our Odyssey filled up! At one point, Colby just sighed and said, "This is heaven."

Laney was NOT a happy camper about her new carseat. She has never been in one before and didn't enjoy the straps or facing backward, but we made it home. We kept the lights on the whole way so the kids could make funny faces at her and keep her somewhat distracted. I was turned around in my seat, holding Landry's hand the whole time too. She just kept saying, "Mamma, Daddy, no more gone. Stay now." We are baby, we are! We're home and we're going to stay together for a long time!















Landry, in her seat, happy to have us all together again!
















Happy big sis and bro















Laney, calm, but not thrilled with her Britax

The flight home....

Hello! We're home now, but I'm blogging backward a bit so I can catch you all up. We had a smooth, but LONG flight home on September 7th. The 15 hour flight seems a lot longer with a cute, squirmy 18 month old on your lap. Especially when she only sleeps for two hours -- and those were the first two! LOL! But we made it. She did well, truly, and the flight home to KC from Newark was fine. Everyone was extremely supportive and understanding on all the flights. I tried my very best to keep her happy and occupied. We had a few rough crying jags, but overall it went fine and we all still loved each other very much when we landed.

Here are a few pictures from our flight back from China....

In Mommy's lap..all ready for take-off.

Happily sitting in her basinette, playing with stacking cups...

In Daddy's arms, as we were approaching Newark.

Back in Hong Kong...

We arrived in Hong Kong today around 12:30. The flight was uneventful and Laney did well. We actually felt quite confident finding our way around, since we were just here two weeks ago. We took the short shuttle ride to our airport (Novatel CityGate...it's absolutely beautiful ~ I highly recommend it!) and settled in for a quiet afternoon. We had a great lunch and Laney tried spaghetti for the first time. She loves it! Lily & Colby, you have another sibling who lives for noodles! I see lots of pasta in our future.

Our hotel is connected to a very nice indoor shopping district, so we enjoyed walking around and even bought some candies and food items to take home with us. Tomorrow is a big day. We will get up very early, eat breakfast at the hotel and then go to the airport by 8AM. By the time we return home tomorrow night, we will have been traveling for 24 hours straight...19 hours on planes. We're praying Laney stays as cheerful and easy-going as she has been up to this point. I'm sure there will be some rough moments, but we are just focused on getting home safely and seeing our other kids we have missed so much! I can't wait to stand together as a family of six. I will post again when we have returned home and I'm no long bleary-eyed. This has been an incredible ride! Our hearts are very full.

Laney -- riding on Daddy's carryon bag, through Hong Kong Int'l Airport

Trying spaghetti for the first time....

Trying another piece....

Yum, slurping it up!

Laney has her Passport! (photos)

Last minute shopping in Guangzhou

Aged tea...dried in cakes. You break a piece off and steep it.

Becky's favorite restaurant...if you're ever in Guangzhou you must try it!

Trying to get Laney to join the others...she wasn't interested

Laney's Red Couch Photo

Our family's Red Couch photo


Laney, being cute while Mommy & Daddy pack...

Three passports....headed for home!

Laney has her Visa!

Hello friends. I'm writing to you on our last night in Guangzhou. Today was a busy day, but really only one important thing happened. We raised our right hands (while holding Laney's little hands) and took our oath before the US Consulate (attesting to the fact that everything we have written or told the US government is true & accurate). In return, we received Laney's passport (her Chinese passport) with her Visa inside! She can now return to the United States with us, enter the states through the Foreign Passport Holders line...but as soon as her little foot touches down on US soil...she will be an American citizen. We will have to apply for her US passport before we travel with her again.

Even though the oath was in a large room filled with over 35 adoptive families...and even though we all said the words in unison (a la cattle-call), it was still a wonderful moment. Troy and I had tears in our eyes and we were hugging Laney tightly and whispering congratulation to each other. What a long journey of papers and documents and signatures adoption can be...but it is all complete! Laney is our daughter and she will soon be an American citizen. Very exciting stuff!

We spent the other parts of our day doing last minute shopping, spending almost all the remaining kuai we had. (We did save a few, in different denominations, as souvenirs). I, for one, had no interest in returning to the bank and exchanging that back into US dollars! LOL! We also picked up our last load of laundry that I had dropped off before breakfast. It will be nice to return home with virtually all clean and neatly pressed clothes! One less thing for me to do while I'm emotionally-spent and jet-lagged.

We also took a stroll over the White Swan hotel and took the now "famous" red couch photos. It has become a long-standing tradition in the Chinese adoption community to take photos on one of the many red couches located in the White Swan hotel lobby. Laney wasn't particularly excited about sitting on the couch by herself, but she did fine when we took our family photo. We were excited because on our trip, we met a very sweet couple from Liberty, MO! They're homeschoolers, like us, and this was their first adoption from China as well. We were with the in Nanning, and then we kept running into each other on the island once we got to Guangzhou. Brad & Stacy were also at the White Swan when we were there, and so they took our family photo and we were able to help them take one as well. (They also have an 11 year old daughter.) We're hoping to see them again when we return home. It will be so fun to see their sweet Emma get bigger, along with Laney.

We were so tired this evening, with all of the packing and organizing, we didn't go out to dinner. We just grabbed ham & cheese sandwiches from Starbucks and drank our last two Coke Lights. (Let me point out that Coke Light is NOT the same as Diet Coke, no matter how many sweet Chinese convenience store clerks try to convince you that it is. But we still drank it. (smile)) (2nd side note, all of the soft drinks we've enjoyed while in China have featured the classic "pull tab" opening mechanism. I, having been born in the mid-70's and not really drinking soda until the early 80's wasn't even sure what that was when I first saw it! LOL! Troy, my old husband, had to show me how they work.)

Oh my goodness, this is it. We're really starting home tomorrow. One more 24 hour stay in Hong Kong and then we will start the long 15 hour+ flight all the way back to the states. We are missing our children so much I can't even explain it. My chest actually hurts I miss them so much. We can't wait to see each of their faces and give them hugs and introduce them to their new baby sister. I told Laney tonight, as I was giving her a bath, "Baby, you have no idea how much love is about to come at ya! You think we're good? Wait until you meet your sisters, big brother, BoomPa, Sweetie, Papa, Grandma, aunts, cousins, and all the friends who have been praying for you for so many months. You're going to be completely surrounded, up, down and all around with love." She just grinned at me and splashed away, as if to say, "I know. It's gonna be great!"

Final day in Guangzhou...

This morning, Troy & Laney slept in and I woke up early. I decided to sneak out for a morning walk around the island...by myself. It was so peaceful. I walked by the corner grocery and waved at the shopkeepers as they were opening up. I went past the center square and watched the men and women going through the graceful motions of tai chi and the children laughing on their way to school...dressed smartly in their matching primary school uniforms. I grabbed some coffee (yes, at Starbucks) and walked back toward the hotel along the banks of the Pearl River. I stopped and said hello (and the other few words/phrases I can say in my pitiful Mandarin) to the older couple who play Mah Jong outside their flat every morning, with their next door neighbors. They pull out a small, felt-topped card table, four little chairs and then sit for a few hours playing a loud and fast-paced version of the classic Chinese tiles game. They think I'm hilarious as I try to figure out what they're doing and suggest moves they should make. I will miss them. I hear that most young people in China who play Mah Jong play computer versions. I think the original with the well-worn, weighty tiles, good friends, laughing and enjoying the warm morning...this scenario seems far more charming.

I got back to the hotel and grabbed our last load of laundry and delivered it to the corner shop. Another thing I will miss from China...laundry service! LOL!

This morning was special to me. It was good to be alone and soak in all of the sights and sounds and sweet faces I have quickly come to treasure here in Guangzhou. It was also a comtemplative time for me...to reflect and give thanks for this amazing gift we have been given. Laney Kate Rao is a total treasure and we are so grateful we have been given the opportunity to be her mama and baba! Four children...three beautiful daughters and one amazing son. What have we ever done to deserve such blessings?

It was over a year ago, when Troy and I first began seriously talking about international adoption. I was reading my friend Jen's blog. She was in China at the time, adopting her adorable daughter Betsie. I remember being so captivated by each day's entry and overwhelmed at the thought of maybe, just maybe, being able to go on such a parenting journey myself. I also remember one very specific entry she made in her blog. I'm not sure if she wrote it, or her husband, but the title was "Why not you?" Troy and I sat there and looked at those words and began to dream big.

And so today, on my final day in Guangzhou, as my precious daughter sleeps sweetly beside me in her crib, I ask each of you the same question. "Why not you?" For those of you who are reading this journal...you know if those words are meant for you. Perhaps you already have children. Perhaps you think your family is complete. Perhaps you would love to adopt, but don't think you have the courage, the finances, the time, the support...

But I would ask you to consider it. There are so many children here in China...so many daughters particularly...who need a family. I realize there are children everywhere in the world who are orphaned and alone, but I speak now for the children who are in Laney's birth country. Beautiful, sweet, amazing children who are, right now, spending their days in metal cribs, crawling on tile floors, with no one to comfort them and touch them with love. The orphanages here do what they can, and the nannies try, but it is not the same as having a real mommy and daddy to love you. In Laney's orphange, there are over 100 infants right now...and only about 6 nannies to help care for them.

To adopt, you must first want to be a parent. There is no "act of charity" about this. But if you know you have the desire to parent, I would ask you to consider adoption. No, it is not for everyone, but I know that my words are touching the hearts of those who need to hear them. Who knows? Perhaps your daughter or your son is in China with me, right now, and you just need to come and find him/her. We have found Laney. Our lives are fovever changed. Be brave... and ask yourself if such a journey lies before you as well.