tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54168019783226539652024-03-13T14:52:53.548-05:00Sara's Storythe journey to a forever familyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-40090868030506503932009-06-20T11:59:00.004-05:002009-06-20T12:05:04.180-05:00Come On OverI 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 - SheriUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-86751434690590794322009-02-19T13:38:00.008-06:002009-02-27T21:57:43.727-06:00The Month of Love!Father/Daughter Valentine's DanceI 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 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-35836374886409139652009-01-01T22:41:00.002-06:002009-01-01T22:47:10.377-06:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-43520305526301586962008-12-30T21:39:00.000-06:002009-01-01T22:30:58.161-06:00December 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 "familyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-74018088559026371702008-11-17T09:58:00.006-06:002008-11-29T22:29:35.399-06:00Sara 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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-15769865435173079652008-11-05T10:34:00.004-06:002008-11-06T18:37:17.512-06:00Princess SaraWhen 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 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-19485891810255229392008-11-05T09:59:00.003-06:002008-11-05T10:07:48.228-06:00Great GrandparentsIt 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!!!!!! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-77642537627489198862008-10-31T18:55:00.002-05:002008-11-06T19:03:15.441-06:00Halloween"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. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-48351442369521701922008-10-26T15:45:00.004-05:002008-10-26T22:11:05.139-05:00And Life Goes On.....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-92144772289666891122008-10-22T15:09:00.000-05:002008-10-26T15:14:04.806-05:00P.S. Sara loves the dog!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-68583877896361203642008-10-20T11:48:00.008-05:002008-10-20T12:26:21.021-05:00Home! 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, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-2769265650493595062008-10-20T11:40:00.004-05:002008-10-20T12:21:32.979-05:00Final Day Pics Our last day in China was quite a long one. Our flight did not leave until 10:50 that night, so we just packed and played around. We explored the huge park across the street from the hotel and as usual found new and exciting treasures. Sean enjoyed playing the shuttlecock with the locals - he is very quick on his feet. We discovered a soccer arena used in the Olympics that was breathtaking. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-59804993237568247052008-10-19T00:38:00.002-05:002008-10-19T00:40:32.187-05:00Home at Last!Just a quick post to let everyone know we made it home safe and sound. Will wrap things up later .......Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-16531800635557509322008-10-16T07:31:00.006-05:002008-10-16T09:44:31.114-05:00All AloneWe are alone in the hotel, now that most all the families we have gotten to know have flown back to Beijing to fly home tomorrow. It was great meeting people from all over the States who shared one big thing in common. Our flight to LA leaves tomorrow. We then spend the night in an airport hotel at LAX and then head to Austin the next day (whatever day that is!).Please pray for good health for Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-80433205878274723762008-10-15T03:27:00.011-05:002008-10-15T07:27:26.820-05:00Day and Night(Sara took the pics of the boys! - hence the looks!)Thanks for all of your prayers. I am really amazed by the support we have. I just feel it - across the entire world. It is an amazing thing.Sara has had quite a day. The first day we met her, back in Nanjing, she had held the side of her face. We asked her (through our guide) if she had a toothache, and it was said that she had a mild ache. She Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-7539354134194077992008-10-14T20:23:00.002-05:002008-10-14T20:32:07.441-05:00Early WednesdayPlease pray for us. We have only made it to breakfast before the tears and shunning started. Sara woke up early as usual. After a couple hours in the room, Sara and I headed on down to breakfast while the boys got some extra sleep. The is nothing on the schedule today. She woke up in great mood and even played on the computer (her favorite starfall.com) while I slept in until 6:30. But the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-21278464255628612212008-10-14T07:32:00.010-05:002008-10-14T10:03:29.177-05:00Tuesday Morning - Again! Ok - I am running out of catchy titles! The days are really running together and the boys (and admittedly us) are starting to get a little anxious to come home. Sara had a couple of meltdowns today. Instead of coming in tears and sadness now, they look more like Evan's episodes (and occasionally Sean and Ryan's too). More like tantrums and screaming. I am sure she is exhausted. She is going toUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-5263155395591466392008-10-14T07:30:00.002-05:002008-10-14T09:47:35.240-05:00Our Boat TripUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-51380869905728736522008-10-13T07:04:00.008-05:002008-10-14T00:12:15.071-05:00Not Your Ordinary Monday Today definitely was not MY ordinary Monday. It was a girls day! Sara and I enjoyed it and the boys had a great time just doing "boy"things! Sara and I started out the day with breakfast for two. The boys slept in, while we snuck downstairs to start our day. Many families tried to get us to join them to eat, but we insisted on our cozy table. After a hearty breakfast we set off on the busUnknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-78032306955167555262008-10-12T07:55:00.010-05:002008-10-12T08:33:37.583-05:00Day of Rest Today was a relaxing day. We did not have to be at breakfast until 9:30. In the boys room, all was quiet until 8:15 - what a way to start a Sunday. The girls room, on the other hand, started the same as always with Sara being up at 5:30. This is the same time she got up everyday in the orphanage. She is like a robot. I am doing my post earlier tonight so that I can go to sleep.She had a hard dayUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-24467418171648240902008-10-11T08:51:00.007-05:002008-10-12T04:57:09.943-05:00Familiar Faces We made it safely to Guangzhou. It has been a long, but uneventful day. It has been nice to see to see faces other than Chinese. Don't get me wrong, we love the Chinese, but wow! did we stand out in the crowd. Now we have joined 13 other America World adopting families, plus thousand of international peoples. We still draw some attention - but so does everyone else. I did not realize how much I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-86711452310123287042008-10-10T08:33:00.007-05:002008-10-10T09:34:44.839-05:00Just a Fun Day!Sara woke up smiling. Such a great way to start the day. In fact, everyone woke up in a good mood - could not ask for much more.The weather stayed in the 70s, not much sunshine, but felt great. Our itinerary has all been moved back a day, so we did not fly to Guangzhou. Tomorrow begins with an early morning flight. We sure did not mind, it is beautiful here. This area is known for its trees and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-70862867359124927002008-10-10T08:30:00.002-05:002008-10-10T09:47:02.663-05:00More PicsUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-20086069244928502502008-10-09T09:03:00.004-05:002008-10-09T09:50:05.176-05:00A True JourneyJust completed yet another day! It is hard to believe how fast time is going. We are using every chance we have to learn more about Sara by just watching her in her own environment - like the foods she chooses, her daily routine, talking with her through our translator about her life at the orphanage, ect. She is making things difficult though, for she chooses to almost only speak English, she Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5416801978322653965.post-3038524570977979612008-10-08T08:05:00.000-05:002008-10-08T08:05:01.038-05:00Birthday in ChinaI thought it was time for Dad to get online. It's the end of another great day -- the day that my oldest son, one of the all time great kids and any dad's dream come true of a son, turned 9 years old. I'm truly blessed as a father, and Sean is one of the five people I hold dearest in this world, and for whom I could never thank God in heaven enough. We spent this day visiting a Ming dynasty Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10