Signs of Life : The Brownie Chronicles

  I have SO MUCH to learn.  I'm like a first-time mom all over again.  10 years from now, I'm sure I'll look back at some comments I've made over the past year and laugh at myself.  But I don't believe I'm going in blind.   Tian with a grandfather from his foster family in China. Well, it's been just about 10 years since I wrote that , and I was right and wrong. I DO look back at some things and laugh, but I also cringe at a lot.  I wasn't going in blind, but as I have learned, the more I know there is to learn. I cringe at posts like  this .  My statements about provision for the adoption are not even theologically sound.  It's just something I learned to repeat  without really thinking about the implications.  " This was God's plan " and "God provided the funds for us to adopt," are now phrases that I totally disagree with.  How can I say that God decided to give us tens of thousands of dollars to adopt, but not pro...

Travis had very few communication skills when we first met him .  The adults caring for him communicated with him by poking, prodding, and pointing.  He communicated back with smiles, crying, laughter, and head-banging.  That was about it.  Our first few days with him, he would drool, kick his legs, and even slam his head on the floor, wall, or crib.  When he was happy, he would smile, be silly, and sometimes laugh to the point it was excessive.  These behaviors reduced rapidly and massively within the first few days we had him.  I credit most of this to Ken and to ASL.  When Travis would cry to the point of drooling, Ken would wipe Travis' mouth and sign, "No, you don't need to drool.  Just tell us what you want."  I actually told Ken I felt like it wasn't fair to correct Travis, telling him "no, no" about drooling since he didn't understand anything yet.  Ken rightly pointed out that we'd be speaking English to him if he was heari...

What an amazing day! It was everything I could have imagined and more. I'll have to blog in more detail about it later. (I've recorded notes so I won't forget.)  For now, I'll answer some of the questions I know you're curious about. Tian didn't cry once during our first 24 hours together.  We think he was a bit in shock, as you can imagine.  When he was brought up the steps and into the office, he was very shy, covering half of his face with the back of his hand.  I was sure he would start crying, but he didn't.  He sat right in my lap and just stared back at the sea of faces looking at him.  Within minutes, he was holding his Hot Wheels car and eating some snacks. On the bus ride home, TJ made him giggle by playing hide-and-seek. He hasn't seemed to pick a favorite.  Right now, he likes all of us. He does look for me when he's fussy. Today, when Ken and Kenzie left the room to get lunch, he pointed at the door and cried. He does seem to h...