CONNER!!

We just received the most wonderful, thorough update on our Conner!!!  What an amazing blessing to be able to get detailed information on how he is doing.  Of course, it made us all the more excited to go and get him-- we have waited WAY TOO LONG!!!  At this point, it looks like we will be traveling to China sometime between April and May-- woo hoo!!!! As Jeremy mentioned, Jessica will not be traveling with us this time, but we will be taking Graci, Cali, Taylor and Parker-- what a special opportunity for these siblings to be there and experience a piece of Conner's life in China!   Along with the update were several photos (I'm only posting one because the others were in a different format) and let me tell you, I just can't wait to get my arms around this sweet kid.  I am feeling so many emotions as we get closer to that moment-- gratitude, fear, excitement, overwhelmedness (is that a word?), love...  Adoption is such a rollercoaster and knowing what we are in for makes it all the more wonderful and all the more scary!  (:  Honestly, I almost go into panic-attack mode just thinking about all of the hard parts-- then I have to remind myself of the peace and joy that also comes.  We know well the depth of the emotions both Conner and our family are about to experience over the next few months.  Such a huge life change for all of us, but especially for him.  We have begun to include in every prayer our desire for the Lord to prepare him for our family and for us to do all we can to be ready to welcome him into our home.  We love you, Conner.  See you soon!!!!!!!

2/13/2014 Update

Medical/Development:

There has been no change in his voice.

He can speak both Mandarin or local dialect.

Personality:

His temper is good and is rarely angry.

There are no behavioral concerns when he interacts with other children, but occasionally he trembles slightly.

He does good in school.

When not in school, he likes to play with younger sister and brother in his foster family or playing piano in the orphanage.

He does not like any pop/musical groups.

He is closest to his younger brother in the foster family and his classmate, Zhou Tian Tian.

He likes meat and Cartoon book.

Adoption:

He has no concerns about moving to the U.S.

He does not have any questions about his family and is not getting nervous.

He is a bit excited and he wants to have his own piano.

In new surroundings, he is excited and desirous.

He said that he want to make friends with them (his new siblings).

General:

He is not a picky eater and did not have any food that he does not like up to now.

Wu Jia Xia

2/14/2014 update

Medical/Development:

Wu Jia Xia’s piano teacher got sick so he hasn’t had classes for the entire summer vacation.  The other children attend classes and when the foster mother is busy with chores, he will review homework in the house and practice on his electric keyboard and listen to songs.  One day, Wu Jia Xia said, “ma ma, I hear the sound of your footsteps coming and going, I think you are quite busy! Can I help you with anything?”  The foster mother said, “no need, you play, I’ll take care of it.”  Wu Jia Xia said, “but I really want to help you!  I’ll help you wash dishes!  At school I already help the younger students was dishes!” The foster other said, “Ok! You have grown up and I can be at ease!”

         Wu Jia Xia reached out with both of his hands and got up from the dining room couch feeling his way to the kitchen where the foster mother was.  He didn’t bump into anything and he arrived at the foster mother’s side.  The foster mother took his hands and put them next to the sink and took one of his hands on one part of it to study it then told him where things were: “from here take a little detergent and tap water…” the foster mother helped Wu Jia Xia become familiar with everything, then Wu Jia Xia first turned on the water and he put his hands in the water until the sink filled up to above his wrist, then he shut it off.  He put a few scoops of detergent into the water and used his hands to mix it with the water.  He used his left hand to find the dishes and his right hand to grab a rag and put the dishes in the water and scrubbed them.  Once he had scrubbed the dishes inside and out, he took them out of the water and shook the water off then put them in a place in the kitchen with lots of space… Wu Jia Xia performed each action methodically, slowly and cautiously.  After all of the dishes were washed on one side, he emptied the dirty water and then changed it out the way he originally did it.  Once he finished, he asked the foster mother, “ma ma, come look.  Did I clean all of the dishes?” The foster mother grabbed his hands and said, “ma ma has been right next to you watching! You cleaned them all very well and every single dish was washed and everything was done very well!”

Wu Jia Xia

2/14/2014 update

Medical/Development:

On January 25, the school for the blind went on winter holiday and the foster parents went to bring Wu Jia Xia home.  At the same time, they also went to every teacher to inquire about Wu Jia Xia’s studying.  The teachers all evaluated him very well.  His home room teacher had this to say about Wu Jia Xia: He is a very versatile student with the gift of gab and he is energetic and joins in many activities.  He’s smart, he responds quickly and he receives good grades.  In liberal arts he received the best grade overall.  However, he has room to improve with taking care of his own affairs in general.

         When the winter holiday started, the foster parents decided to help train his ability to take care of himself.  They got the school’s schedule so he could learn to do his things on his own.  On the first morning of the winter holiday, the foster father said, “Jia Xia, we are having a blanket-folding competition, I challenge you to do it in 3 seconds.  Can you do it?”  Wu Jia Xia immediately responded with, “What? You want to fold blankets?  In the dorms, the boys don’t fold their blankets in the morning!” and started laughing, “hei hei hei” However, he picked up his blanket hastily and started folding it.  The foster mother said, “there is a saying that explains this well, ‘cleanliness is next to godliness,’ you should learn how to do these things while you’re young!”

         In accordance with the requirements of the self-care teacher, during the winter holiday, the parents watched Wu Jia Xia and corrected all of his little mistakes.  After a couple of weeks, smart Wu Jia Xia didn’t need the foster parents to remind him to do any of these things.  When it was time to go back to school, the foster parents urged him again and again, “remember what the teacher and we said, you don’t want to pick up any bad habits!” Jia Xia nodded his head and said, “relax, I won’t pick up any lazy habits!”

         The new school period has already been going for a month and the foster father inquired about Wu Jia Xia’s situation and the teachers all said that since Wu Jia Xia came back, he has been doing well in every aspect and he will certainly have a bright future!

2013-2014 School Year First Semester Report Card

6^th grade                                                    First semester                                      Wu Jia Xia

Course	Grade	Course	Grade
Morals	89	Phys. Ed.	80
Language	86	Health	70
Math	62	Music	98
Nature	80	Handwork	70
English	94	Orientation and Mobility	80
Computer	90

You are smart and respond quickly.  Your personality is also very lively.  This semester you helped out other students and I saw this.  I hope that you continue to help others.  You need to improve on organizing your desk because you can’t find the things that you are looking for.  I hope that next semester you will focus on organizing your desk to make it more convenient to find things.

Oh, and just for fun-- HERE is the video that started it all-- the first time we saw his sweet face.