We're Home
November 8, 2010  |  November 9, 2010

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 It's the first full day back and it has been an awesome day! I jumped right back into the school routine by getting up at 6:00 for prayers and then staying on top of the boys while they get ready. Ava slept all the way through the morning routine this morning which is completely and totally unheard of. No question it's because Gemma was in the room now too. Keaton was up late last night after we got home so I let he and Gavin sleep in until 9:00. In fact, we had to wake the girls up then too. Unbelievable! The girls woke up chipper and ready to take on the day. Gemma was obviously excited about her new day in a brand new world. She and Ava played and played all morning long. Ava is clearly thrilled to have a big sister and looks up to her so much. It's a perfect fit because Gemma is more than willing to give things up when Ava is a little selfish with her stuff (like 3 yr olds do), so there's no friction. At lunchtime we dropped Keaton off at school and decided to let Gavin stay with us since he was still pretty jet-lagged and wouldn't really be effective in class. From the school we headed over to our favorite Pan-Asian restaurant called Fusion for a little lunch and to introduce Gemma to our friends Tony and Linda who own the place and are originally from Hunan Province just north of Guangdong. Linda was out running errands but Tony was there and managed to strike up a conversation with Gemma in Mandarin. We knew she could speak Mandarin but were worried that we'd really need a Cantonese translator to be effective. Tony said her Mandarin was actually very good though so that's a huge relief. Linda had called and Tony gave the phone to Gemma for a bit so they could talk. Linda made arrangements to visit our house later in the afternoon. The food was excellent as always and if you're ever in the Colorado Springs area, be sure to make a stop for lunch or dinner at Fusion. Back at home, the girls and Gavin continued to play well together without a single fight or argument. At 2:00 or so, we got our first real snow for the year. Gemma was really excited since she'd been wanting to experience snow (careful what you wish for around here, it's not uncommon to have two feet dump in a single day).

Gemma with our dear friend Linda Experiencing her first snowflakes. (yes, we still need to get her some proper snow gear!) How to melt the hearts of your new parents!

Right about 4:00, Linda came by with some gifts for the girls and sat with us for a bit to get to know Gemma and provide some translation. We both took advantage of this and asked questions of each other about lots of different things. It was immensely helpful for Linda to do this! She also said that Gemma's Mandarin was good even though she would drift into Cantonese once in a while. We learned that Gemma was a very good student, mostly As and Bs in school, with a C in Mandarin class (HA!). We learned about things she likes to cook and loads of other stuff. One of the things we learned is that Ava had been crying a little the night before and that Gemma had gotten up to comfort her by patting her back. I figured something was up when Ava didn't end up in anyone else's bed overnight. WOW! Linda stayed for quite a while and pledged to visit once a week as Gemma adjusts to life in the U.S. She even offered to teach us some Chinese recipes and is helping us get set up in Chinese language school so that Gemma doesn't lose her mother tongue. We're going to do it as a family as well so that we can all become more proficient. I'd be apprehensive about it if it was Cantonese that we'd be learning, but since it's Mandarin, it will be a lot easier (4 tones in Mandarin vs. 8 tones in Cantonese). Still, it will take a long time to become even remotely conversational in Mandarin. We just continue to be blessed by the support of our friends. Linda has already gone out of her way to help us by translating letters and flashcards we wrote for Gemma, and now this. We are so blessed to have friends along this journey like Linda and Tony, Kim and Tyler, and Judy and Thereon, who believe in what we are doing and are moved to take action. God is great! I know there are many others that have participated in this effort and I haven't acknowledge you formally yet. The list is long!! I'm not a huge fan of Hillary Clinton, but I will agree with her on the village principle. It most certainly did take a village to pull off this adoption. So many of you contributed time, funds, moral support, or all of the above and we are eternally grateful. I also want to acknowledge that we're still in the honeymoon period and things can always change, but I sense that this is going to have a positive material impact on our family dynamic. It's like we are suddenly complete and the thing that was missing is now here. Our problems seem to have become trivial and much more bearable. We've even noticed change in the boys. Where before the older ones could tend to brood and fight, they're all more open and loving and getting along better. It's not just the first day back, we noticed it while we were Skyping in China too. Maybe it's just the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" principal, but whatever it is, we need to work hard to perpetuate it for Gemma's sake and for the sake of the rest of us. This evening we were once again blessed with a little feedback from our new addition. Pinned to the wall was a new letter in English that said: "Hello Ava, Gavin, Mom, Dad (we were all home today). My name is Gemma. I am very happy. I love you. Today very happy." I'm not too much of a manly man to not get a little misty-eyed over that one.

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