Christmas in KC

The older boys found Wii games in their stockings.













Ben's excitement to get a new Ben Ten watch. Maybe now he'll let us throw away the old one that has been rotting on his wrist for the past year?










Daddy and Lydia...

The first fire of the season...beware of the pyros...

Mommy and Lydia....

Merry Christmas!

Calvin and Hobbes Tuesday, December 25, 1990

Christmas Eve at the Inn

We managed to get everyone ready for church and arrived almost
on time---it is not easy to get six people dressed up without a few tears. It was nice to be in my grandparents church again and this year they were able to go with us.




The boys and Lydia pose in front of the Inn and then the tree in the hearth room after church on Christmas Eve.










Before we put cookies out for Santa, they jumped into their jammies and headed to the game room. Jack, being the planner that he is, had brought a stash of coins and bills and was prepared to treat himself and Sam to video games and ping pong rental.


Then off to bed...it is definitely NOT easy for Santa to arrive in a hotel room, especially when they won't go to sleep...how does he do all of that in the dark???


I managed, but didn't get to sleep until almost 1 o'clock and was almost discovered by Ben. It was quite funny now that I think about it. I was prowling around on the floor like an intruder looking for the valuables (not very stealthy I might add) and a couple of times almost had to slide under the bed when I made too much noise!

What to do with the cookies so late at night...am I really supposed to eat those? I crumbled a few and discreetly disposed of the rest like usual---also difficult because my kids are snoopy. Maybe next year we should leave herbal tea and a Chipotle gift card...I'm sure Santa would be much more appreciative.

Icy Travels

As is typical for me, travel usually involves some sort of weather stress and our holiday trip to Indiana was no different...ice, ice, ice!

With each tenth of a mile, I wondered if we would be the next vehicle off the road into a ravine---there were many unfortunate folks finding themselves in that situation. Thankfully we (and my sister and parents) all made it through without incident. As we drove, I longed for sunny California and imagined myself living there again to avoid all of this winter weather...I really despise it. Maybe someday I will have sun and sand again, but for now...to be close to Grandmas and Grandpas.





Things are changing in Indiana....with each yearly trek to visit my family there are more differences. My grandparents no longer live in their little house. It is unoccupied, but still has all of their belongings. They now live in a little built-on apartment with my aunt's family. It is difficult to encounter the changes that take place with age---they are no longer spry and active, but are still quite sharp and love to see how our lives are unfolding.




Some of the changes are nice though. Instead of staying with my grandparents, we have to find other lodging now that there are so many of us. This year, we stayed in an Inn at a nearby state park. It has become a favorite place for us because the Lodge is kid friendly and is set back in the forest and hills of southern Indiana. No-frills that's for sure, but it is quaint with a feel of stepping back in time. It is actually quite a retreat, and someday I hope to curl up with a book or write by the blazing fire in the dimly lit lodge (when I am no longer chasing little ones!). Such simple dreams!







The kids posed with Smokey the Bear and found marble ramps in the game room.

Gotcha Day and a Snow Day in KC

Today is the one year anniversary of Lydia's "Gotcha Day" (or the day she was placed in our arms at the orphanage). I can hardly believe that it has been a year since she's been in our family. She is extremely happy, energetic, and strong-willed all packaged in a remarkably beautiful little girl. We are wonderfully blessed and fortunate to have her. Here she models a Christmas apron Grandma Kemper made for her.

While I'm sure other families celebrate their Gotcha Days in a very exciting way, today was a snow day here in KC and I am trying to get ready for Christmas activities, so our day is a bit lame.

Snow days revolve around costumes, cocoa, popcorn, and bascially relaxing and random play in our house. Maybe I'll get to read or write today? Probably not as all are expecting some extraordinary day because they are home from school---I believe my Mommy entertainment is usually a let-down. I did snap a few pics though. Here is the first round of costumes for the day...a strange mix of super heros and a pirate/indian?

We did manage to put together a gingerbread house without too much tragedy (prepackaged of course). As usual Dad lamented the fact that there is candy involved. Fortunately the boys were content to glue the stuff on instead of eat it. The house stayed together quite well (what is that icing anyway? I think it is really a sweet glue...Sam licked it once and I cringed at the thought of his body battling the chemical goo). I finally convinced them that we aren't going to eat the rock hard gingerbread walls that were probably manufactured last year ;-)






Christmas surprises arrived in the mail today from Gma/Gpa Kemper in the form of cold cash. That IS exciting...now they can spend the rest of the afternoon deciding what to buy...the letters to Santa continue, but strangely they never ask how to mail it to him. Jack accuses us everyday of being Santa. I ignore such ridiculous comments, acting incredulous at the thought of it. But Jason uses it as a form of entertainment...the morning commute conversation this month has revolved around Santa facts/possibilities. Jason has convinced them that Santa would most definately need nourishment besides sweets...perhaps pizza, maybe a warm and festive drink? The boys were very interested in that and now are scheming how to get him some real food. But unfortunatley we are staying at an Inn in Indiana and are unable to make this happen for poor Santa this year...cookies it will be, and not homemade either!

Christmas Concert

Tonight was the long awaited Christmas concert at the boys' school. They have been practicing for a long time and every now and then I hear snippets of Latin and Hallelujah verses ringing from my living room as they leap from a chair. The event gets better every year I believe and this year there were hardly any seats left, as the school is growing. As I watched, I was reminded of why we chose this school.

It warms my heart to hear my 6 year old singing actual Christmas songs about our Savior, rather than the cutesy songs in other school's holiday shows. And this year it was a treat to hear Sam's third grade singing an awesome Gregorian chant performed in Latin (a capella, too)...I believe a script written by David about the upcoming Savior. His class only has ten students and they did a marvelous performance!

It reminds me of the first performance we attended at his school 3 years ago when we saw the annual Shakespeare performance. We were trying to decide on a school and I was amazed at the abilities, ambition, and dedication of these young people and small group of parents---memorizing an entire Shakespearean script, the pleasant sound of young men singing in Latin, and most of all the demeanor and intellect of these young people that we witnessed in this little place....and an education encased in a Christian worldview. That night secured our decision for our kiddos to go here. We have loved it...the best teachers and dedicated families you could find in the Metro in my opinion! Anyway, wondering about a Classical Christian school? Let me know :-)

A few pics from last night (please excuse the poor lighting and strange eyes on the kids!5

Last few pics from China

Once we finally had some free time to roam around Fuling, we found a bakery. The boys were excited to find big puffy sweet treats.











During our last visit to the orphange, we were given the opportunity to plant a ginkgo tree (which symbolizes longevity) in honor of our daughters. Not many families participated as the trees were quite expensive, but we and two other families chipped in to buy a tree in honor of our "Bao Babies" Anslee, Gracie, and Lydia were the youngest girls on the trip and are from the Bao generation of babies (meaning they were in the orphanage at the same time). Bao means "treasure." Here the Cox, Kemper, and Smith guys plant our Bao tree for the girls.










Our last chance to hold babies...here Lydia and Grandma feed a newborn.

Lydia says goodbye to her nannies.

Leaving China...We Made it Home

We are home...and glad to be here! After traveling for nearly 30 hours, we pulled in the driveway at 1:00 am on Saturday night (after a quick stop at the store for coffee and milk since our fridge is bare). I wish the traveling to/from China was not so painful, then we might be eager to go more often. The flights were uneventful and thankfully everyone slept almost the entire 13 hours. We have been on so many flights and buses the last seven days that I was beginning to wonder if we would ever arrive home in one piece.

The most harrowing portion was leaving Fuling on a bus at 4:00 am on Friday. The small mountains between Fuling and Chongqing are hilly with scarey tunnels and several foggy overpass bridges. We have had an amazing bus driver who has been able to manuver that huge thing through nearly any obstacle.

As we left Fuling, I was dreading the next many hours, sitting straight up in a seat, trying to sleep, and attempting to keep the kids from freaking out. They have done an excellent job on this trip! They had several nights of empty tummies because of the exotic food, much lost sleep because of the hectic schedule, and much poking and prodding from the locals, who were trying to figure out if they were real :-)

I'm glad to be in my own bed, wash my face with clean water, and not worry to drink water from my faucet. Sam already misses China and has expressed that he wants to go back and live there. I reminded him that he is most likely missing his friends that he made and the experiences that we had, and that living ther would be MUCH different...no Chinese/English speaking guides, no new-found American friends to pal around with, no nice hotels and police escorts, and they would be expected to go to school!

Our favs of the trip:
Grandma Dolores---walking the streets of Fuling, experiencing real Chinese life (and the Wall of course).
Jason---he's not sure yet.
Me---definately the orphanage and holding the babies
Sam---the Great Wall, hanging out with new friends
Jack---the Great Wall, his new friends
Lydia---the Pandas

What we won't miss: intestines, stomach, and jellyfish tenticles for dinner; questionable water; being stared at; sitting on a bus; being lectured by an ancient Chinese man (I'm sure about us being Capitalist Pigs and The White Devil---we were moved on by apologetic locals, who tried to hush the old man...ask us about this story!); sleeping on rock hard beds; and lugging suitcases around!

We will miss: the beautiful scenery of Sichuan Province; the friendly, curious locals; cheap goods; our new friends; our guides William and Alice; and most of all, the babies of Fuling.

In all, we had an amazing trip! A trip that Lydia won't remember, but that we will tell her about often as she looks at the pictures and reads "her story." I was disappointed to not find out much more about her life before us. I had imagined that I might uncover something huge while I was there. But, I think it is best that we just live our lives here, appreciating China and Fuling, teaching Lydia what we know about her life, and admit that the rest is just unknown.

One mother actually met her daughter's foster mother while there (found her in 1 million people!) but was quickly scolded for meeting with her unsupervised and the foster mother was told to leave the woman's hotel room by the people in charge of our trip. I wonder if that "foster mother" was really the birth mom? A bit unsettling...I wonder what these government officials really know about our daughters. Perhaps they have inside info that can't be found out and thus want to keep us from trailing leads....or perhaps they are just protecting us from potential problems. Nothing can be done; it's China.

I'm content to have my little girl and just wonder about her history...while we make our own history together.