One month ago today........

One month ago today our little boy walked into our arms! It seems like a lifetime ago. So much has happened and he has changed so much! He has gone from a screaming, thrashing (have to say not likable at all times) kid to an absolute sweet heart. He is kind, gentle-hearted, loving, smart, funny, and easy to get along with. He is picking up English well and communicates more with gestures now instead of full on Chinese. The tantrums are a thing of the past-oh please stay that way! He does follow me EVERYWHERE! Think shadow-that is him. I guess he is curious and may be afraid I will disappear? It is challenging to handle at times. I am still adjusting to life with 4 kids-mostly life with 2 toddlers/preschoolers who compete for my attention CONSTANTLY!!!!!! It will get better though-or at least I hope it does. He really has adjusted beautifully and much quicker than we thought. We are all falling in love with him and his sweet endearing ways! He seems to love his new family and we feel blessed to have him as a part of us. We believe he was well cared for and loved because he really is very loving and kind. That can only mean he was shown those qualities. Thank you Lord for answered prayers!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

The FOUR reasons I get to celebrate this day! Thank you for letting me love you!

May the Lord's grace, mercy and love guide me as I strive to raise these gifts He has entrusted to my care. I am truly blessed!

To all the Moms out there.......Happy Mother's Day. And to MY Mom, I love you and I thank you for all the years of love and dedication!

We are HOME!!!!!!

I know how Dorothy feels. There is NO place like home! Especially when you have been gone 20 days. We have never been away for that long and quite honestly don't want to be again.

So now that we are home, we are all settling into our new normal with our new roles. Jaida, bless her heart, is struggling greatly. Xin is doing very well, Julia and Sam are coming out of jet-lag phase and are really my right hand man and woman. Will has gone back to work-poor guy, lots to do there. And I am the tired, overwhelmed but very blessed mother of 4. Two toddler/preschoolers and jet-lag don't mix well. It is getting better though each night. More sleep comes and that is a very good thing!

We have had only 1 tantrum since we have been home and that was the day we all got up at 3:00am because we just couldn't sleep. He is picking up the language well and motions and shows me what he wants vs speaking Chinese all the time. He absolutely loves playing outside and hanging out with his brother and sisters. He is sweet, affectionate, smart, silly and curious. The hardest part is that he is like a cave man. You have to watch him every second, which is tiring, because he doesn't know simple things...... you don't touch the hot stove, or pull the lamp cord or the curtains down. You don't walk out into the street or put your entire hand into a bowl of food or the dog's food. You get the picture. But it is WORLDS better than it was in Beijing. He has made huge strides and it will continue to move forward. It is so cute to watch him discover the world. Very simple things kids take for granted he has never done nor seen. Sad really. I am sure we will Americanize him soon enough and he will be spoiled rotten. But for now we will go through the process of showing our little boy how to be a part of a family, how to love, how to trust, how to get along in society and how to love the Lord. It has been quite the journey these past few weeks and we did not do it alone. We had all the love and prayers that sustained us and most of all we had our God. We did not do this.....He did!

Zaijian!!!!

Sorry, we're not here-we're in CHINA!!!!!! Join us at www.babyjellybeans.com enter child's name:Xinran Hatcher. I will resume posting here when we return! Zaijian!

The De-throning of a Princess

Well, it is inevitable. It IS going to happen. It won't be pretty. There will be some tears. But it is coming and there is no stopping it now. Jaida is going to have some adjustments with her new brother arriving in just a few days. Jaida is the baby of the family and will remain in that position, so that is a good thing. Jaida is in all reality...... the Princess of the family too(nobodys fault but ours). She likes the attention she gets from practically everybody- she is quite a bit younger than Julia and all her friends and even Sam and his friends, so they really make over her. She gets attention too because she looks different from the rest of our family. And to be quite honest she gets attention because, in this Mommy's opinion, she is DARN cute! And her personality..... she is a spitfire......she is precocious......she is engaging. But there is a new fella that might steal some of that attention and scramble to make himself a Prince. Watch out Xin....you will have a fight on your hands for that crown.Oh boy, we are in trouble.

Merry Easter!!!

I awoke this morning at a little before 7:00 am to the sweet sound of "Merry Easter Mama! Easter Bunny come?He bring me new fwip fwops?" Jaida was so excited about getting new flip flops-the girl loves shoes! Last year the Big Bunny brought her flip flops and so this year we waited with much anticipation to see if he would have those pint-sized shoes among the grass and candy.........YES, there they were and she was happy as a clam. Big brother and sister were happy with their gifts as well. We had a beautiful service at church followed by lunch with Nana and Poppy. It was a wonderful day and I am blessed! Hope you had a joyous Easter!

Two Bulls and a Princess

Well, as we are fast approaching departure for China, we have been busy with......life! Julia and Sam play on a soccer club called the Bulls. We have games or tournaments most weekends. On this particular weekend Julia played against boys and Sam played against girls and Jaida faithfully cheered her siblings and their teammates on. She is their #1 fan and is so good about sitting at games all day long!! When she is not cheering for the Bulls she rather likes a good game of Barbies, babies or dress-up Princess! I am not sure where Xin will find his niche in all this? It will be so fun to watch him make his place in the mix and to see his personality unfold!