Ramen Noodle the Poodle

I had the most tender experience earlier today.  Sophi was having one of her moody mornings.  It was a doozy.  I finally put her on the couch in front of the TV and tried to ignore her incessant whines.  I know, great mom.  I came in my room to check my email and found a message from someone who I've never met, who wanted to know if I had heard of "Ramen Noodle, the two-legged poodle."  She said it reminded her of Sophi.  I actually had seen a video of him before, but hadn't shown Sophi.  I went and got her from the couch and brought her to the computer.  I pushed play on the video, and her face slowly went from Miss Grouchy to Miss Sunshine.  She was enamored, and after a few seconds with her face glued to the screen she said, "Look, Mom!  It's a Sophi dog!"  Bless her heart.

She kept asking for more, so I kept showing her more videos of Ramen Noodle, then moved on to other animals with missing limbs.  She was totally captivated.  After a little while, she planted a tender, sweet kiss on my cheek-- just out of the blue.  I was so grateful for this thoughtful email that allowed me to have such a precious moment with my Sophi, and turn her frown upside down.  (:  Thanks, Janet!

All About Conner

I'm so excited to tell you a bit more about this phenomenal boy!  I must start out by saying that we do not have pre-approval for him at this time.  We normally don't announce our adoptions until we've reached that very important step, but his pre-approval may take a little longer than usual, and we just couldn't wait any longer to share our video!  Let me explain the situation:  An adoptive mom from America was in Hubei a few months ago to get her son.  She went to visit his orphanage, and while she was there she saw our sweet boy playing the piano in the corner.  She thought he was incredible,  and asked the director if she might video him.  The director gave permission and walked over and told Wu Jia Xia that there was an American family who wanted to videotape him.  He asked him to play a "western song."  Jia Xia then wowed us with the theme from the Titanic.  If you didn't catch on from the video, Jia Xia is blind.   I have no idea how much "training" he has had, but holy cow!  He's just eleven, and he can't see!

When I first saw his video, my world just stopped and I had tears streaming down my cheeks.  I immediately knew that this was someone special, and that he already had my heart.  I called Jeremy and told him, "Um, hon?  I think we have a son too!"  (This was about a day after deciding on Cali.)  Jeremy had already thought we should get two again this time, and I had said that there was no way!  But there was something about this special boy that captivated us both and made me yearn for him to be our son.

So this is the issue:  Jia Xia does not have his paperwork completed for adoption.  We have had contact with the orphanage director, who is thrilled that we want to adopt him.  He has promised to put everything together as soon as possible.  We have been approved in our homestudy for two children, and our agency is on board.  So we are just awaiting Jia Xia's paperwork to be finalized before we can be officially "matched."  At this point we think of him as our son, but we know that we need that important step to happen before we can be 100% confident that he is!  We are praying every day for it all to work out quickly and according to God's will for him and for us.

Taylor and Parker picked the name Conner.  It obviously keeps with the tradition of ending in "er," which was important to them.  I think it's a good, solid name for Jia Xia!  Allen comes from Jeremy's father-- just like Rose came from his mother.   Perfect!

We really don't have any information on Conner besides the video and the few words from the director and the lady that videotaped him.  We know that his birthday is in July and that he is 11.  (This would make the ages in our family 13, 12, 11, 11, 11, 8, 7, 7, 7, and 3-- yikes!)  He is apparently very sweet-natured and hard working.  He has been at the orphanage longer than most children there.  He reminds us very much of Lexi.  In fact, we think they look pretty identical in their profiles-- especially from when Lexi had the same haircut as him!

I will post his sweet video here.   Scroll down to the bottom and pause the blog music first.   Be ready to fall in love-- we sure have!!!

 

The Quest

So many times I had stood there with longing eyes, unprepared.  Why, oh why was I not one of the chosen few.  Was it simply a matter of preparation?  If I demonstrated the same dedication and willpower would I see the same results?  Those who succeeded in the quest did not look any stronger or more educated than me.  They did not have any obvious talent that made them stand out from the crowd.  And yet they had done it.  When the time of testing came, they had the correct answer.  They were ready!!!  And when my turn came, I hung my head in shame, unprepared for the bounty lavished on the victors.  Day after day, week after week my sorrow grew.  When would I step up and make the effort?

And then yesterday I took a stand.  I could do, would do this thing.  I had the strength within me.  I knew the glorious results that awaited!  I will do what it takes!  I will come off conqueror!

It took time, as all good things do.  I pored over the materials needed for success.  I found all the resources I could.  I made notes, both mentally and on paper.  I organized my results.  And then I went forth.  Waiting my turn, the anticipation mounted.  Beads of sweat started to show on my forehead.  Would it really work?  Could I have the same power, almost magical, I had seen others wield?  And then it came.  My time.  I approached.  The question came:

"Welcome to Walmart.  Do you have any price matches?"

"YES!!!!!!!!!"