Love, Laughter & Ladybugs: Happy New Year !!! Here comes 2011 !!!!

Hi there, C here,

As 2010 winds itself down, and tonight marches toward tomorrow and we welcome 2011, we want to wish all of you and your families a very Happy New Year.

Looking back over the last year, we have so much to be thankful for. We have been so fortunate to have been entrusted with a new little life. Our little Ashley has already been through so much in her life. Along with the boys, she inspires us to be better parents, and have reinforced for us the lessons of perspective and perseverance.

At one point in this, our third adoption process, we had been asking ourselves: "Can we do this."

Now, thanks to what we've been able to overcome as a family, we have never felt more certain that: "We can do this."

This afternoon, I was looking through some old photos and videos on my phone and I came across:

* A video of the Guangzhou hospital room - single wooden chair and all - where Ashley spent (2) difficult nights.

* Photos of the signs on the outside of the hospital which I emailed to Aunt Rita so she could show her clueless cab driver - she was trying to bring the boys to the hospital and relieve Lisa and me for the night.

* A video of the pediatric ward of the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong where we spent (2) more nights, sleeping on the windowsill!

Plenty more photos and video nuggets to remind us of Ashley's adoption journey - the lows and the highs, too.

Anyway...It's 10:45 on NewYear's Eve, I'm sitting at Grandma & Poppa's dining room table pecking out this post. I hear Ashley's little voice in the family room watching TV because she's still AWAKE! She's talking to Mom, Poppa and Grandma as if it's the middle of the afternoon. I just tried to wind her down myself, but failed - uncharacteristically, I might add!. (I spent about 40 minutes with her in the bedroom, I even had her lying face down on my chest. This usually works every time...not tonight.) Maybe she just wants to make sure for herself that 2010 finally does leave!!!

Tomorrow is HER BIRTHDAY after all!!

Just for the record, Mom just took Ashley upstairs to try to help her get to sleep. She is exhausted beyond words, but for some reason, fighting sleep with all her screaming might! Here is what I just saw as she headed upstairs:

This look is worth at least 1,000 words!

Despite tonight's challenges, 2010 has enriched our lives beyond description. Recently, Ashley's foster mother sent us a long letter that touched all of us. In it, she revealed to us all of the details of Ashley's story. For those of you unfamiliar with Chinese adoptions, a child's backstory many times goes forever untold. The harsh reality of the abandonment, the cold objectivity of the baby's finding, and the details of the child's first few days & weeks and placement in an SWI (Social Welfare Institute) are usually neatly tucked into, at most 3 paragraphs, in the baby's Medical Report.

Special needs children's stories are usually more detailed, but typically only in an clinical sense. The stories have more of the blanks filled in, but often times, not many more, when it comes to the human side of the story.

Thanks to the meticulous care and nurturing that she personally showered onto Ashley, the raw "fight" (no better word for it...) that her foster mother put up to assure her very survival, and the time and attention that she obviously devoted to recording the story, Ashley's story is as complete as we could ever hope for. Her history is well recorded, thoughtfully told, and richly charged with all the emotion, and love of the first 21 months of her young life.

It's an intensely personal journal of Ashley's and her foster family's challenges, joys, struggles and victories along the way to our meeting in Wuhan on October 11, 2010. We realize what a gift we have been given to be able to have been told this story. In fact, we have been in contact with Ashley's foster family over the past 2-3 months, trading letters, emails and photos. We will likely have even more details revealed to us over time. All of which will surely enrich the life of our daughter, when she's ready.

If the baby monitor is not malfunctioning, it seems like Mom has succeeded where I did not - the silence is deafening (except for the occasional sounds of Ashley's tummy getting smaller - I'll leave that to your imagination !!)

Back to Grand Rapids...Time check: 11:25 PM.

(Yes, it took me "that long" to type the last few paragraphs - I should have paid more attention in Father Brown's - may God rest his soul - Junior year typing class at HGP!!)

The past few days here have been full of activities!

The Wedder cousins visited yesterday afternoon for Poppa Wedder's annual tradition of Cookie Decorating. Mom made the sugar cookies and the kids decorated!

Last night we went out to the mall and the Boys & Ashley had fun in the play area. Today we also ventured out to (in the rain, if you can believe it - it's 50+ degrees here!) go shopping again, and visit another play area. Ashley is downright fearless (not always a good thing) when it comes to keeping up with K & D. We had a little incident today!

She vaulted headfirst down the far side of a "mushroom", but couldn't pull her head up quickly enough...she wasn't hurt - much!! It turns out that her hair bow got caught in the melee and gave her a little scratch on the side of her nose! (If you scroll back up, you can see it on the photo above!). The good news: no tears, no (not much) blood, and only a small scratch, which will hopefully heal quickly, as evidence. Mom wasn't pleased - but she got over it - she'll need to the way Ashley tries to keep up with da Boyeez!!

And tonight, we visited the local minor league baseball park (home of the West Michigan Whitecaps) where every year they set up a drive-through light display in the vast parking lot. Tons of lights and signs of the season. (Does it matter that we had to wake everyone up from their naps when we got there? It's about a 30 minute ride by car.) Regardless, everyone perked up when we slid into Starbucks to pick up some Hot Chox and Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Wait a minute...maybe THAT's why Ashley couldn't fall asleep!!!

Who knows - at least she's out now!

Here are some photos to end with: