Come On Over

I just realized that I had never put our new website on this page. Please visit us at our new site, www.majorsfamilylife.blogspot.com. Thanks - Sheri

The Month of Love!

Father/Daughter Valentine's Dance

I know it is a corny title - but it is true! It has been four and a half months since we met Sara. This "bonding" thing is hard! It is physically and emotionally exhausting. We knew going into the adoption of an older child it would be difficult, especially not knowing much about her background and not speaking her language. We prepared the best we could, but mostly relied on God to get us through. We constantly told ourselves (and still do) that no matter how hard it is for us, it must be so incredibly difficult and painful for Jia Jia (Sara).

But I can wholeheartedly say that Sara has now embraced us with open arms. She shows her love for us in so many ways. She openly tells us, she writes us letters and cards, she draws us pictures, and best of all, she gives us the biggest hugs. She loves her brothers and is very protective of them. Her English is great and we have very open communication. She is making friends very easily and learning how to play with them. She loves school and is so eager to learn.

Mike and I are head over heels for this little girl. For me, it was love at first site (on a computer screen with no picture!). But for Mike, it has taken longer for those paternal feelings to kick in, especially with the house so chaotic and even ugly at times. But now he is so in love with her. Evan (3) and Ryan(7) think Sara is the greatest thing in the world! They really fight for her attention. Sean (9) has come A LONG way. He understands now that Sara does not care if she is older than him. She would much rather let him be the "older" brother. She looks up to him and follows his example. He loves to make her laugh. My mother's heart tells me that he would miss her dearly if she were to go away, and that his love for her will grow stronger every day.









These are pictures from Grandparents Day at the boys school. It was fun for the kids to show off all their hard work. Ryan's class recited 1 Corithians 14:3-7 and Sean's class worked together to recite Paul Revere.




This is Mike running in the Austin Marathon on Sunday.

Everyday from 4 -5pm, Sara has Ryan in her room for "China School". Here she teaches Ryan basic chinese words and characters. She is a very good teacher. Ryan looks forward to going everyday. Evan used to attend school too until he was expelled for improper behavior (i think he crumpled up some papers). She even gives him homework assignments! (Sara took these pictures of her "student"!)

Sean and Evan. (Sean refuses to attend school after school!)

Making and decorating Valentine's Day cookies. It is so exciting when it is Sara's "first" time to do something. Cutting the cookies out was really fun for everyone.

At the end, there was one last, BIG cookie left, so they all worked together to decorate it for ME!





Here it is. Isn't it lovely?!!

December Already??

We have been home with Sara for over two months! In many ways it feels much longer than that, and then in other ways it feels as if we just stepped off the plane. I love this picture because the four of them look happy together. In my dream world, they would stay like this always. The transition has been difficult for everyone, but we are seeing the light. Sara has mourned the loss of her "family" and friends back in China terribly. At times we have felt guilty for taking her away. But just over the past two weeks, she has been able to start expressing herself. She writes us notes to tell us how thankful she is to be with us and draws us beautiful pictures. She says that when she grows up she wants to be a teacher. She knows now that she has the opportunity to have an education and to be somebody. She has finally come around to the fact that she has three brothers. We are seeing a true gentle and caring nature in her that we had not seen before (now if we can get the boys to be nice back!)

This is the "Garage Band" the kids created for the few cold days we have here. You can see Sean is on the guitar, Ryan the drums, Sara the flute (recorder!) and Evan is the singer!

These are Sara's friends from school! She is in a regular fourth grade classroom and does one hour of ESL a day.



The boys at the Weihnachten fun run. Sean and Ryan came in first and second in the 200yd dash and Mike won first place in the 40+ 5K run. Go Majors!

Sara let me curl her hair! What a treat for me!



Sean playing ball with G'ma Sue!

Hat of the day!

Dressing up like G'pa Jim!

Cute!

Did I mention Sara loves the dog?

Oh - and Rosie the cat!

This is our future house. We do not recommend adopting and building a house at the same time, but feel very blessed to be able to move out to this beautiful piece of land. We hope to move in late Spring.

Princess Sara

When we told Sara about her English name, she was not too sure about it. It was difficult for her to pronounce and sounded very different from the name she was accustomed to being called (Jia Jia). The day after we met her, the official adoption paperwork was done. Sara was now her English name, and we were hoping she would like it sooner than later. I wrote to her on the translator that Sara meant "Princess" in Hebrew. She smiled. We continued to call her Jia Jia, and she started to practice saying and writing Sara. By the tenth day after meeting her, she wrote to us that she would prefer to be called Sara now. She is a true Princess!

Great Grandparents

It was a great surprise this past Saturday for Sara to meet her Great Grandparents! The boys have not had much time to spend with them either - so everyone was very excited that they came all the way to our house! Debbie and Garry ( my aunt and uncle) brought them for the visit. It was a wonderful day. My grandparents celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary this December!!!!!!

Halloween

"Halloween" - it cannot be described on a handheld translator. It just has to be done!

We all had a great day. Sara loved the candy. It was good and plentiful! The day was full of laughter and fun. The kids all enjoyed dressing up and spending time together. Moments like these are priceless.

And Life Goes On.....

P.S.

Sara loves the dog!

Home!

After the long flight, we made it to LAX. Unknowingly, we were to sit on that green bench for almost two hours awaiting Sara's "green card". But it did not matter. Everyone was happy to be one step closer to home. Although it was nearing midnight, it was smack dab in the middle of the day to our brains. After receiving the all important stamp in the passport, we spent the night at an LA hotel, got up and flew to Austin. It was home sweet home.

Sara loves her new home. The backyard, although nothing fancy, is a big hit! She loves to swing. She loves her room. From my favorite movie, Annie, I think "she's gonna really like it here!"