Time......it's one of those things that is a constant but seems fluid. An hour can go "fast" or "slow" depending on the circumstance. We say things like "it seems like yesterday" or "this is taking an eternity". The thing is, the sand slides through the narrow part hour glass at the same speed no matter what (unless some slobber or crazy glue has gotten inside somehow and gums it up a little, trust me it happens. This doesn't slow time it just makes it necessary to get a new sand timer). Anyway, 19 months between blog entries is an eternity in blog world especially when there are little ones who change every day. This my attempt to be more diligent and consistent with blogging our life and to back track a little. I was using Facebook to record some of the cute things said or life happenings but then I realized that blogging would be better. So, here we go.......
I have to say one more thing.....I struggle with writing. I would love to have witty and poignant things to say in every blog post. I would love to have perfect grammar and spelling all the time but the truth is it would take too long for me to achieve that every time so I'm giving myself permission to blog quickly and truthfully.
I know, I know.....words, words, words......we want pictures!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Faith
Today Faith is 28 months old. She is a wonder. Right now she is sick. Her weak spot must be ear infections. This is her 4th since she has been home(maybe 5th). She started with a cough and fever Sunday. Her nose has been running like crazy and last night she threw up. Poor baby! She doesn't sleep well when she is sick so we have had a couple of bad nights. I am hoping she is on the upswing now.
We have had snow stay for several days. It must be some sort of record. Usually we are out sledding first thing the day after an evening snow because it melts by noon. This time the kids are actually tired of sledding. Faith loves the snow and doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. I bundled the kids up really well as it was 12 degrees the last time we went out.
Some of the cute things she is saying now: O day (Okay)
'bout jia jia? (this she says when it's time for nap)
(jie jie is big sister in Chinese)
I....... Pooooooorch (explanation below)
zin the dar (whenever we are looking for something)
(in the car)
I hope this story translates in written form because it is one of the funniest things our family has experienced. One day I had told Faith she could go on the front porch later to play with the sand. Apparently, I was not around to translate so she had to explain to dad that she was aloud to go out on the porch. He was not getting it and after several tries she decided to make herself very clear. Faith got right in Tim's face and said very clearly and sloooooowly. I............ poooooooooorch. Tim understood immediately. When he told me we howled. I've always said she had no problem communicating even after first coming home when she didn't understand English yet. This confirms it.
She is coming along very well. She still has quite a temper when things don't go her way but she is learning to control herself and does quite well for a two year old.
I do wish she would eat a more balanced diet. She likes very little meat and will eat some vegetables and some fruit. She will eat pork in any form but I really don't like feeding her so much pork. Of course she will eat any sort of snack food if is available.
She loves her big sister. Joylin is a big help because if I ever need Faith to do something I just enlist Joylin to do it and she will follow willingly. The most recent thing she has done because Jie Jie has done is get ear drops. Joylin is usually willing to help.
She loves to play cook especially with the grandmas. She takes them upstairs and says "eeeeeat". Usually the grandmas comply and spend an hour or so eating all kinds of delicious meals made of plastic. Now that the grandmas are gone I will probably get to partake.
The last 14 months have been amazing. We have all made a lot of adjustments but are all the better for it or will be in the future.
The last attempt to add pictures didn't go so well. I will try again.
We have had snow stay for several days. It must be some sort of record. Usually we are out sledding first thing the day after an evening snow because it melts by noon. This time the kids are actually tired of sledding. Faith loves the snow and doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. I bundled the kids up really well as it was 12 degrees the last time we went out.
Some of the cute things she is saying now: O day (Okay)
'bout jia jia? (this she says when it's time for nap)
(jie jie is big sister in Chinese)
I....... Pooooooorch (explanation below)
zin the dar (whenever we are looking for something)
(in the car)
I hope this story translates in written form because it is one of the funniest things our family has experienced. One day I had told Faith she could go on the front porch later to play with the sand. Apparently, I was not around to translate so she had to explain to dad that she was aloud to go out on the porch. He was not getting it and after several tries she decided to make herself very clear. Faith got right in Tim's face and said very clearly and sloooooowly. I............ poooooooooorch. Tim understood immediately. When he told me we howled. I've always said she had no problem communicating even after first coming home when she didn't understand English yet. This confirms it.
She is coming along very well. She still has quite a temper when things don't go her way but she is learning to control herself and does quite well for a two year old.
I do wish she would eat a more balanced diet. She likes very little meat and will eat some vegetables and some fruit. She will eat pork in any form but I really don't like feeding her so much pork. Of course she will eat any sort of snack food if is available.
She loves her big sister. Joylin is a big help because if I ever need Faith to do something I just enlist Joylin to do it and she will follow willingly. The most recent thing she has done because Jie Jie has done is get ear drops. Joylin is usually willing to help.
She loves to play cook especially with the grandmas. She takes them upstairs and says "eeeeeat". Usually the grandmas comply and spend an hour or so eating all kinds of delicious meals made of plastic. Now that the grandmas are gone I will probably get to partake.
The last 14 months have been amazing. We have all made a lot of adjustments but are all the better for it or will be in the future.
The last attempt to add pictures didn't go so well. I will try again.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A little about Joylin
Hi all, I have decided that I am going to turn this blog into a journal of sorts. My plan is to devote one day per month or so blogging about one of my children. These might get pretty long because I am writing them for my kids to read someday and for me to express my feelings about them. I have decided to use the date they were born as a guide for when I post about them. Since tomorrow is the 7th and Joylin was born on June 7th she will be the first.
She turned 6 and a half on Dec 7th and is such a joyful little girl. She has such a sweet disposition most of the time. She has her sassy moments but those usually happen when she is tired or embarrassed about something. She tries very hard to be a good big sister but it is challenging. Faith is still showing quite a temper when things don't go her way and scratches and hits for no apparent reason at times. Joylin handles those times like most 6 year olds would but they usually patch things up shortly after the incident. I often remind her that she was a biter and a hitter as well. She even told me that she remembers hitting and biting. I know she still has the urge sometimes but controls herself very well. I love watching them play together. They are so sweet when they play.
Joylin is one smart cookie. She is reading well and seems to have most of the appropriate math concepts down as well. As I expected she is a very easy child to home school. She does get distracted easily so we do have to work on her staying on track some of the time.
She is involved in gymnastics and does very well. She kicks high and can almost do a back hand spring. The most important thing that she loves it and works hard and she does both. I am thinking of starting her in dance this summer for some short sessions to see if she likes it and she will probably go into the higher swimming class as well.
The highlight of 2009 was our trip to Disney World. She and I got to eat lunch in the castle and meet 5 of the 6 princesses. She was so excited. She got her autograph book signed and a picture taken with each one. At one point I saw a little shiver. I asked her if she was cold and she said "NO, that happens to me sometimes when I get excited". I had no idea she was that excited. I am so happy she was enjoying herself so much. There are so many other experiences from our time at Disney World. I might share as we go.
We are now looking forward to starting 1st grade. She finished K just before we left for vacation. She is getting a little excited. I am waiting for the rest of her curriculum to come in the mail.
The weather has been very cold and we have taken walks the last tow days. We had so much fun playing on the ice and visiting with the horses that belong to the Close family. We are letting them use the pasture for a few months.
This little girl has been such a blessing to me. What an honor to be her mom. I have to say mothering is the most challenging thing I have ever done. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the very serious mistakes I've made. I can't so I don't dwell on them.
Here are a few recent pictures:
She turned 6 and a half on Dec 7th and is such a joyful little girl. She has such a sweet disposition most of the time. She has her sassy moments but those usually happen when she is tired or embarrassed about something. She tries very hard to be a good big sister but it is challenging. Faith is still showing quite a temper when things don't go her way and scratches and hits for no apparent reason at times. Joylin handles those times like most 6 year olds would but they usually patch things up shortly after the incident. I often remind her that she was a biter and a hitter as well. She even told me that she remembers hitting and biting. I know she still has the urge sometimes but controls herself very well. I love watching them play together. They are so sweet when they play.
Joylin is one smart cookie. She is reading well and seems to have most of the appropriate math concepts down as well. As I expected she is a very easy child to home school. She does get distracted easily so we do have to work on her staying on track some of the time.
She is involved in gymnastics and does very well. She kicks high and can almost do a back hand spring. The most important thing that she loves it and works hard and she does both. I am thinking of starting her in dance this summer for some short sessions to see if she likes it and she will probably go into the higher swimming class as well.
The highlight of 2009 was our trip to Disney World. She and I got to eat lunch in the castle and meet 5 of the 6 princesses. She was so excited. She got her autograph book signed and a picture taken with each one. At one point I saw a little shiver. I asked her if she was cold and she said "NO, that happens to me sometimes when I get excited". I had no idea she was that excited. I am so happy she was enjoying herself so much. There are so many other experiences from our time at Disney World. I might share as we go.
We are now looking forward to starting 1st grade. She finished K just before we left for vacation. She is getting a little excited. I am waiting for the rest of her curriculum to come in the mail.
The weather has been very cold and we have taken walks the last tow days. We had so much fun playing on the ice and visiting with the horses that belong to the Close family. We are letting them use the pasture for a few months.
This little girl has been such a blessing to me. What an honor to be her mom. I have to say mothering is the most challenging thing I have ever done. I wouldn't change a thing, except for the very serious mistakes I've made. I can't so I don't dwell on them.
Here are a few recent pictures:
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Our Faithy girl is 2
Hi everyone,
If you had told me that it would be 9 months exactly from Faith's birthday that I would blog again I would have thought you were crazy. I'm busy and all but I am committed to getting our life with Faith and family down for posterity. Well, here we are actually nine months plus. I am ashamed but I will have to say that we have been enjoying life so much and have been very busy. My plan is to go month by month and blog the highlights. .....we'll see.
Faith's birthday was actually Sat but we celebrated yesterday. Tim and Noah were on a Father/Son retreat over the weekend.
Faith participated in Kindermusik and the theme was barnyard animals. It was great for bonding and language development. She learned all the sounds they make. One of her favorite books now is a book called "Moo, Baa, Lalala" by Sandra Boynton. We have is memorized. I decided to make 3 barnyard animal cakes for her bd. The first 3 pages of her favorite book read....."A cow says MOOOO, a sheep says Baaaa, three singing pigs say Lalala" so I made a cow, a sheep, and a pig. I should say "we" made them. My parents joined the fun very late Monday night. I will post pictures of them and the party. It was a small affair with just my parents and our immediate family. We had so much fun.
Well, if I can keep my blog sessions short maybe I will get to it more often.
I hope you are all doing well.
Take care,
Janet
If you had told me that it would be 9 months exactly from Faith's birthday that I would blog again I would have thought you were crazy. I'm busy and all but I am committed to getting our life with Faith and family down for posterity. Well, here we are actually nine months plus. I am ashamed but I will have to say that we have been enjoying life so much and have been very busy. My plan is to go month by month and blog the highlights. .....we'll see.
Faith's birthday was actually Sat but we celebrated yesterday. Tim and Noah were on a Father/Son retreat over the weekend.
Faith participated in Kindermusik and the theme was barnyard animals. It was great for bonding and language development. She learned all the sounds they make. One of her favorite books now is a book called "Moo, Baa, Lalala" by Sandra Boynton. We have is memorized. I decided to make 3 barnyard animal cakes for her bd. The first 3 pages of her favorite book read....."A cow says MOOOO, a sheep says Baaaa, three singing pigs say Lalala" so I made a cow, a sheep, and a pig. I should say "we" made them. My parents joined the fun very late Monday night. I will post pictures of them and the party. It was a small affair with just my parents and our immediate family. We had so much fun.
Well, if I can keep my blog sessions short maybe I will get to it more often.
I hope you are all doing well.
Take care,
Janet
Friday, December 12, 2008
Update
I can't believe it has been almost 2 weeks since we posted last. The time is flying by.
I may have to make this quick. We are headed into Atlanta today to go Christmas shopping and it is about time for Faith to wake up. After she wakes our day begins and we go pretty much non-stop until bedtime.
She is adjusting very well. She is sleeping soundly most of the time with very little restlessness. She has been restless and cranky the last couple to days but I think it is because she is teething. Her gums are bulging. I think several are getting ready to come through. I've heard from several sources that if adults had to go through teething they would need to be sedated because of the pain.....poor baby!
She is communicating so well! She says many words and is signing several as well. I will list the words I can remember: Ba ba(the daddy one), now she says Da da, upa (up), upa (is also down but down is coming soon), aaaa duuu (all done), wata (water), dotul (bottle), dat (that, like want that), hot, appa (apple), hi, bye bye, and uh oh. There are more I just can't remember them right now. Some she said but hasn't said them for awhile. She signs more, please, eat, hi, bye and down. A friend just gave us some sign language DVDs so we will be learning more sign language (thanks Brandi!). I think it will really help with the language barrier, although she is understanding so much. It's hard to know what a baby understands at this age anyway but when I say things to her she responds as if she knows exactly what I'm saying.
The other day our little dog was on the couch and I wanted him to get down. I told Faith to go over and tell Micky to get down. She marched right over, put her finger up and and said "Dawn" very forcefully. It was so funny. She knew exactly what I said and did it with the same inflection that I do.
That reminds me of something else she does. It's not exactly a word but she says that "uhhh uhhh" sound to the dogs. You know that sound when you are trying to warn pets or children? She seems to really understand that it is a warning and does it appropriately. Sometimes she gets confused about what the dogs should be warned about and warns them when they are not being bad.
Her communication also consists of a loud scream when she is trying to get attention or when she is not happy about something. I am hoping the sign language helps this behavior. She gets so frustrated and it seems that screaming has helped in the past to get her point across.
She gets along great with the dogs. She's even been known to share a meal with them a time or two. Their dishes are in the laundry room and the door is usually closed but on occasion when it hasn't been she has been found sitting eating the dog food right with them. I think we got her before she ingested too much. I'm so proud of the dogs, they never missed a beat and shared very sweetly with the baby sitting among them.
Faith has also learned how to clean her hands independently while sitting in her high chair. When Murphy is waiting by her to catch any morsel that might fall to the floor (by accident or on purpose) she puts her had down, he licks it and she goes back to eating and this is repeated several times. Ewwww, yuck! That only happened once and now Murphy is banned from the kitchen while the baby eats.
She is doing well in social situations but we have tried to keep those to a minimum. She is shy but is so busy that she does not stay in my lap for long. She walks around and investigates everything but I make sure I am close by so that she is able to see me and know where to go when she begins to feel insecure.
Speaking of busy, this is one busy baby! She is in constant motion. I'm glad because we love to see her move. She is so funny when she dances and runs. She just runs around just to be running with no particular place to go. I think we have video of the running and the dancing. I will try to post it sometime this weekend.
As I said before, we will head out on the longest trip yet since our trip home from China. I hope she does OK. I have a lot planned to keep her occupied but her busyness makes sitting in a car seat difficult for long periods of time.
I know I say this every post but I so appreciate all your prayers and comments. You can't imagine how much they mean. I was thinking the other day how smoothly things are going compared to how they could be going. We hear so many stories of children coming home who get so sick or have severe attachment issues. We have only been together for about 6 weeks now and anything can happen but so far the transition has been rather smooth. At the moment I was thinking all this I realized that we and many of you have been praying for Faith for years, before she was even thought of. How could I discount how much the Lord has been present in these years and recent weeks working His will by answering our prayers?
Love you all!!!
Janet
I may have to make this quick. We are headed into Atlanta today to go Christmas shopping and it is about time for Faith to wake up. After she wakes our day begins and we go pretty much non-stop until bedtime.
She is adjusting very well. She is sleeping soundly most of the time with very little restlessness. She has been restless and cranky the last couple to days but I think it is because she is teething. Her gums are bulging. I think several are getting ready to come through. I've heard from several sources that if adults had to go through teething they would need to be sedated because of the pain.....poor baby!
She is communicating so well! She says many words and is signing several as well. I will list the words I can remember: Ba ba(the daddy one), now she says Da da, upa (up), upa (is also down but down is coming soon), aaaa duuu (all done), wata (water), dotul (bottle), dat (that, like want that), hot, appa (apple), hi, bye bye, and uh oh. There are more I just can't remember them right now. Some she said but hasn't said them for awhile. She signs more, please, eat, hi, bye and down. A friend just gave us some sign language DVDs so we will be learning more sign language (thanks Brandi!). I think it will really help with the language barrier, although she is understanding so much. It's hard to know what a baby understands at this age anyway but when I say things to her she responds as if she knows exactly what I'm saying.
The other day our little dog was on the couch and I wanted him to get down. I told Faith to go over and tell Micky to get down. She marched right over, put her finger up and and said "Dawn" very forcefully. It was so funny. She knew exactly what I said and did it with the same inflection that I do.
That reminds me of something else she does. It's not exactly a word but she says that "uhhh uhhh" sound to the dogs. You know that sound when you are trying to warn pets or children? She seems to really understand that it is a warning and does it appropriately. Sometimes she gets confused about what the dogs should be warned about and warns them when they are not being bad.
Her communication also consists of a loud scream when she is trying to get attention or when she is not happy about something. I am hoping the sign language helps this behavior. She gets so frustrated and it seems that screaming has helped in the past to get her point across.
She gets along great with the dogs. She's even been known to share a meal with them a time or two. Their dishes are in the laundry room and the door is usually closed but on occasion when it hasn't been she has been found sitting eating the dog food right with them. I think we got her before she ingested too much. I'm so proud of the dogs, they never missed a beat and shared very sweetly with the baby sitting among them.
Faith has also learned how to clean her hands independently while sitting in her high chair. When Murphy is waiting by her to catch any morsel that might fall to the floor (by accident or on purpose) she puts her had down, he licks it and she goes back to eating and this is repeated several times. Ewwww, yuck! That only happened once and now Murphy is banned from the kitchen while the baby eats.
She is doing well in social situations but we have tried to keep those to a minimum. She is shy but is so busy that she does not stay in my lap for long. She walks around and investigates everything but I make sure I am close by so that she is able to see me and know where to go when she begins to feel insecure.
Speaking of busy, this is one busy baby! She is in constant motion. I'm glad because we love to see her move. She is so funny when she dances and runs. She just runs around just to be running with no particular place to go. I think we have video of the running and the dancing. I will try to post it sometime this weekend.
As I said before, we will head out on the longest trip yet since our trip home from China. I hope she does OK. I have a lot planned to keep her occupied but her busyness makes sitting in a car seat difficult for long periods of time.
I know I say this every post but I so appreciate all your prayers and comments. You can't imagine how much they mean. I was thinking the other day how smoothly things are going compared to how they could be going. We hear so many stories of children coming home who get so sick or have severe attachment issues. We have only been together for about 6 weeks now and anything can happen but so far the transition has been rather smooth. At the moment I was thinking all this I realized that we and many of you have been praying for Faith for years, before she was even thought of. How could I discount how much the Lord has been present in these years and recent weeks working His will by answering our prayers?
Love you all!!!
Janet
Monday, December 1, 2008
It's been 2 weeks and things are going well
Hey,It's been 2 weeks home with Faith and everything is going great. We are still tired but very, very happy.
Faith continues to adjust and draw closer to us. She is laughing, dancing, playing and eating constantly. She is always in action. I've been promoted to "OK most of the time unless something is wrong then I want Mama". I'll take it, and be happy about it.
"It's snowing, no
school" was the cry around our house this morning. So we bundled up and headed out to play. Faith wasn't to sure about the whole thing so we headed in after a while, but it was a very nice morning.
school" was the cry around our house this morning. So we bundled up and headed out to play. Faith wasn't to sure about the whole thing so we headed in after a while, but it was a very nice morning.It didn't snow much but it was a nice touch after decorating the Christmas tree and house this weekend. Christmastime is definitely here in Murphy NC.
We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. The Lescalleet home has a lot to be thankful for this year. Moving into our new home, Faith finally coming home and everyone being healthy and happy
are on the top of the list. We are looking forward to our first 
Christmas together.
Christmas together.Gotta go, we have three kids trying out for soccer today.
Talk to you soon,
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
A few pics
little missy with her hair clip and bunny slippers
Jie Jie & Mei Mei The next big girl band!!
Our welcome homeFaith hasn't quite got the hang of this toy yet..
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