Graci's Kingdom

Graci, Jess, Lexi, Xander live half of their lives in the make-believe kingdom that Graci created.  It is peopled with many characters.  Several of them are played by our kids, many are imaginary.  Names for the characters often stem from the middle names of our children.  Tonight at dinner I was half listening to the conversation they were having.  I asked Jessica a question and she said, "I'm not Jessica."

Me:  "Who are you?"

Jesi:  "Princess Annika."

Me:  "Grace, who are you?"

Graci:  "Princess Katianne"

Me:  "Sophi, who are you?"

Sophi:  "Princess Sophia."

Me:  "Lex, who are you?"

Lexi:  "Lilian."

Me:  "Princess Lilian?"

Lexi  "No.  Just plain Lilian.  I'm a villager."

Me:  "Oh."  (To Graci, the created of the kingdom):  "Why are the three of you princesses, but Lexi is just a villager?"

Graci:  "'Cuz she married Jake."

Me:  "Oh.  Why does marrying Jake make her a villager?"

Graci:  "'Cuz Jake's a villager."

Me:  "So did Jessica marry a prince?"

Graci:  "No.  She was born  princess."

Me:  "Oh.  Were you born a princess?"

Graci:  "No.  I married Jonathan."

Me:  "Who's Jonathan?"

Graci:  "Annika's brother."

Me:  "Who plays Jonathan."

Graci:  "Nobody, he's imaginary."

Me:  "How did you meet Jonathan."

Graci:  "Well, Max and Jonathan were playing kickball and I bumped into him."

Me:  "Is Xander Max?"

Graci:  "Well, right now he's Philip, but sometimes he's Max."

I think this conversation could have gone on forever:)

-Jer

Update on Cali

One of the commenters on a previous post asked for an update on Cali.  This person is considering an older child adoption.  So here goes:

Cali is doing unbelievably well.  Her English has really skyrocketed over the last couple of months and she has become very conversational.  She has many friends at school, including a fairly large group of girls that gets together monthly for "late-nights."  She loves to go to activities with our family, whether it's basketball games or band concerts or trips around town.  She loves her extended family and gets so excited when we are going to see grandparents, aunts and uncles or cousins.  

Her closest sibling relationships are with Graci and Jesi.  Grace and Cali still speak a lot of Chinese together (which makes Christi and me very happy).  Cali can't do every chore around the house, so we have a couple that she is able to do and does well.  Sometimes she helps Lexi get ready for bed.  She helps clear the table.  Occasionally she even cleans the bathrooms.  She generally helps out with a willing spirit and seems genuinely happy most of the time.  She does miss China and some of her relationships there.  She is very much looking forward to going back when we get Conner.

Older child adoptions can be wonderful. They can also have many challenges.  Our entire family has been so blessed with how well Cali has adapted and with how much she has bonded with each of us!

Jeremy