May 28th Eli's Gotcha Day

Today marks 3 years since we were united as a forever family and Eli Kai Leslie Crosby became our son! Each year, I wonder if I won't get emotional when celebrating this moment! Hasn't happened so far :) Eli has filled a void in my heart that was there for so long. He makes life so adventurous and fulfilling. Another school year at STRIDE is coming to an end and summer is approaching quickly. This means a change in schedule so some days will be hectic, naps will be questionable, but we will make the most of everyday. From bubbles to swingsets, to riding bikes and taking walks my little buddy and I will be hand in hand. Everyday his independance is growing (and his stubbornness). He loves to tell me "I am big now mommy." Inside I am thinking, don't grow up too fast!

Picture: Finally landing in Grand Rapids, Michigan June 2007

Just some facts about Eli since his homecoming:

* Lived in three states (not including China)

* King of frequent flyer miles (I think he has flown 7 times!)

* Used to drool like crazy....remember I use to carry towels around to dry his face

* His speech skills continue to improve...he has come so far!

* Extremely active....did I say extremely??

* Favorite Movies: Ironman, Transformers, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Bugs Life

* Favorite Toys: Geotrack, Ironman figures, puzzles, trucks

* Loves being outside (unless it is snowy, cold, or windy...just like his mama)

* Looks forward to our bi-weekly library visits (he likes to use our closet as the elevator at the library)

* Thinks the world of his nana and papa

* Loves when brother Justin comes over

* Has amazing aunts, uncles, and cousins that love him dearly (miss you guys!!)

I could go on and on about my crazy little boy! The next big adventure in his life is getting to be a big brother. He doesn't understand why we can't just go for a ride to pick up his little brother!

Next year's recap will be a whole new ballgame...two boys! I can't believe how close we are to going to China. Hopefully, we will be boarding that plane soon.

Something Borrowed.....Thanks!

Today I was checking other blogs from people that are adopting from China and I came across the following:

Kisses In The Wind (The Waiting Child's Lullabye)

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams,
You are here each day with me, at least that is how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are...what is taking us so long,
But remember child I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin,
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in his hands until I can be with you,
I promise you my darling, I am doing all I can do.
Very soon, you will have a family for real, not just pretend,
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in his arms and hold you very tight,
And let the angels bring the kisses I blow to you each night.

-P. Durkota


The Legacy Of An Adopted Child

Once there were two women who never knew each other,
One you do not remember, the other you call mother.
Two different lives shaped to make you one;
One became your guiding star, and one became your sun.
The first one gave you life and the second taught you to live it
The first gave you a need for love, and the other was there to give it.
One gave you a nationality, the other gave you a name,
One gave you a talent, the other gave you aim.
One gave you emotions, the other one calmed your fears,
One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears.
One made an adoption plan, that is all that she could do,
The other prayed for a child and God led her straight to you.
Now which of the two women are you a product of?
Both, my darling, both, just two different types of love.

-Unknown

The Kisses in the Wind lullabye sums up how I am feeling! I want so much to bring our little man home but do realize that God has a plan and everything will work out. Patience needs to be my friend. We did have great news that our money wire transfer finally went through!!

Could It Really be Four to Six Weeks?

Adoption News-

Recently, a family got back from their journey to China to adopt their little one. Prior to going, they sent a package to the orphanage which in turn took pictures of some of the kiddos that live in the orphanage. We think that Jace is the little one in the white striped jacket. If it in fact is him, WOW I can't wait to get him home. If it isn't him, I will still be excited to bring him home to his forever family! When Rob and I looked at the pictures, Rob picked him out right away. Eli's response was, "He doesn't look like my little brother." I am sure he is expecting Jace to be a little baby as the one picture we have of him, he is a little guy!

The paper chase is coming to a close. The three of us have our visas. Plus, we were given approval to apply for Jace's visa, which is one of the final pieces of paperwork we had to file. Judy, who is a representative for Adoption Associates lives in China, brought all of our 1-800A paperwork to the Consulate. She will be called back in a week to pick up Article 5. From there our Travel Approval is issued. Once we have our TA, Adoption Associates can apply for our Embassy Appointment which will most likely be in July. I was really hoping to leave for China in June...oh well!

What a staff-

At our latest staff meeting, I was surprised and shocked by a baby shower given in my honor. Honestly, I didn't "get" it at first...too many things running around in my mind I guess! They actually had to tell me it was for Jace and I!! Thinking back, I thought it was funny to have cupcakes at our meeting. My co-workers were very generous. Jace (and Eli!) received numerous outfits. I can't wait to see my boys in their matching swim shorts!!

With all luck, my next post will be to let everyone know that we have received our embassy appointment. On a separate note, my friend has willingly accepted the responsibility to update our blog while we are in China. Less than a year ago, China blocked all blogs which made many of us sad that we wouldn't be able to tell our family and friends about our incredible journey!

Another Milestone!!

The Crosby's are now one step closer to going to China! We received our L.O.A today which means we have officially been approved for our little man, Jace. Now we have additional paperwork to get together and send to our agency in Michigan and some to send to China. This is the fun and exciting paperwork as we can see the end of the road...we are trying not to think of the plane ride too much!!! From this point, we are about two months from heading to China.

Now that I have a new camera, I am going to have to figure out how to post pictures!! Something for my to-do list for Spring Break

Eli is very excited to get a little brother...hopefully this excitement will continue once we get home. He loves to play in Jace's room which includes trying to get into his crib! I can only imagine what Eli will do in the mornings....all i have to say is we hope Jace doesn't like to sleep in!

Since I have blogged last, many things have changed (imagine that, I haven't blogged since October) Rob is doing great....loves that Eli is so silly! I am approaching a much needed Spring Break. Not much is planned, just hanging with the fam and tackling my to-do list! Eli turned 4 on December 1st...this is hard to believe!!! He loves to play Ironman...he even pretends to put his imaginary outfit on. It's hilarious! He is also a huge fan of guns. For a silly present for Rob's birthday, I bought him two Nerf guns. Eli LOVES to go around the house "hunting." I can just see the Nerf wars in our future. We had a little snow storm today. When I picked Eli up from daycare, we opened the door and his response to the snow was, "No, no, no, I am not going out there in that." Can you tell he isn't a fan of snow....kinda like his mom!

Two Posts in One Day!!

Miller Farms

Pumkin Time...he was actually pulling pumpkins off

the stack...sly little dog!

This is a working farm. We were able to take a hay ride out to the fields and pick veggies to our hearts content! The weather was very hot....so Rob went back to get Eli a drink. Then I found out we had four MORE stops...I couldn't take it...Eli was grouchy, I had had enough. So, I had to decide, to I forgo the food or my child....of course I picked the food! So, Eli and I trudged back...such a delightful trip back we had, yeah right! We ended up getting all of our bags of food when the hay ride came back....all except a bag of corn that someone took from my dad! This is a must go back and visit place for next year.

Some of Eli's silly things: 1)When we were praying the other day, he starts off...we need to pray...father son holy spirit...I pledge allegiance, to the flag!! I love it...too funny. 2) We have halloween candy in a pumpkin dish so after he finishes dinner, he says "One umpkin and two corns?" 3) Rob and Eli were goofing around, all of a sudden he tells his dady, "No tickling, No Rough Housin....be NICE to Eli"

October....Already!

This is what everybody thought of our hike.....overwhelming dissatisfaction!!

Can you guess the one Kennedy drew vs. the ones Amanda drew?

My oh my....I haven't posted in quite some time. Guess we have been busy! Since our last post, we had the best company come out to enjoy the Wyoming way of life. Joe, Mike, Lynda, Kelsey and Kennedy came out for a spectacular visit. We ventured back to the Rapid City area for a weekend of adventures. ROb and I have seen Mt. Rushmore more times than we ever imagined. While in Hill City, all of us tried to take a marvelous hike....our hiking guide couldn't have been more wrong. The trail was intense plus with the addition of all the rain, there were bugs galore. Among all of the crazy things we did, picking up Amanda from the airport was awesome! It was the first times in years that my family was able to visit with her. Amanda is an amazing artist. Kennedy even got in on the action....she must have felt bad that her mom didn't have a personal portrait!

On the day everyone left, we had quite a treat for Amanda! We had tickets to see The Wiggles. What I didn't realize is that we were in the 2nd row from the stage!!! Eli was in shock for almost the entire concert. The most amazing part was when Murray Wiggle grabbed the sign Amanda made and took it on stage...after that Eli was so excited!! He is now back hooked on The Wiggles...thought we were over that hurdle!

Amanda was due to fly out on Sunday, so on Saturday we set out for an all day excurion on the quads. We didn't realized that mid-day, we were going to be making a trip to the hospital. The end results were 10 broken ribs and a broken collar bone...can you guess who for? To give you a hint, I felt as if de ja vu had set in because six years to the day, we were sitting in the ER awaiting Rob to get plates and screws to hold up his leg!!! Two weeks after the accident, he ended up getting surgery on his collar bone...more plates. pins, and screws. I am sooo excited that I took out the extra insurance policy on the quads. Eli is going through a, "I need to be just like daddy so he had to have an arm brace too." I am sure his days will be coming when he has his own arm slings! The picture is pre-surgery.....Rob now has an enormous scar on his shoulder.

I have been extremely busy with my job. I have never worked so hard in my life. Rob is amazed at how much work I bring home on a daily basis. I do like my job though. It is nice to be back working with elementary kids. My district also offers an unimaginable amount of trainings...plus they pay you to attend....what a win-win situation! The bummer is that the classes are on Saturdays. Currently I am taking a Guided Reading class..it is awesome!

Eli started out going to school at St. Mary's but after much disappointment on our end, we pulled him from the program. He started going to his old daycare....my oh my, I didn't realize what he was going through until a few weeks ago. He is soo much happier and his stuttering that had started is slowly going away. He will start going back to STRIDE a few days a week. This is the program that helps work on his speech.

Over Labor Day weekend, we rented an R with my folks and headed to Mesa Verde, Colorado. We had a blast. Mesa Verde an amazing place that had cliff dwellers. What an amazing site. My mom, Rob and I took a tour of the Palace...left Eli with my dad. We thought the tour was 30 minutes, ended up being an hour....oops! I wanted this pictures of our trip down here but the blog wouldn't cooperate....so the pictures are at the top.

Michigan Trip

Hanging with Jack, Issac, and Sydney at McDonalds

Eli is packed and ready to go!

Friends Reunited after 24 years...Craig and Rob

Eli and Jesse playing it smart in the hot weather

An awesome visit with Cally and Lila...they were

heading to Traverse City!

The king of the hose...could be trouble!

Our daddies brought us a special treat...pushups!

After a busy day at the carnival and in the pool, the crew

takes time for a picture...Eli, Kelsey, Noah, Kennedy, and Luke.

Enjoying a few cocktails with Steve and Tara

Look out Uncle Joe, Eli likes to drench people!

Waiting for the parade...(I should have zoomed in a little)

You should have seen the bag of candy they got from the parade....yikes!

Our visit with Steph and Fer...hanging out enjoying life!

Just wait, the reason for the picture is in the blog....

Hard to believe we have been back for two weeks...wow, time is precious! We had a great time visiting everyone. Our plane landed (a little late) in Indy, Rob and I stepped outside and about died. The humidity was insane....and it was midnight! Thankgoodness Joe had AC. My brother had to work for a few hours, so we went and picked up our rental car and headed to Michigan. Our trip up was a bit hairy until Eli fell asleep...needless to say, he was a bit cranky! As the miles rolled by, we smiled at the scenery...full trees, green grass...oh the beauty of being back in Michigan. Our first stop was Bronners Christmas Store. We have purchased a Dickens house for Christmas and our anniversary each year so we needed to get that done. I also started taking a picture of Eli by the giant Santa since we have come home from China...he gets a kick out of seeing this giant statue! I wonder if he will still let me take his picture with Santa when he is 16? After our fill of Christmas, we headed to my brother Mike's house. We hadn't seen them since Thanksgiving and were very excited to spend some time with them. During our visit with them, we managed to take in a parade, attend a carnival, go to the zoo, and visit Central Michigan University. I have to mention that at the zoo, they have an exhibit of crows and prairre dogs! During our time in Saginaw, our friends Steph and Fer stopped by for a few laughs. Then the next day, Tara, Steve, Noah and Luke came by to enjoy the carnival and pool with us. It was great seeing everyone!!!

After leaving Saginaw, we made our way to Muskegon. We met Rob's sister for dinner along with his dad. We went to dinner at Fricano's on the lake. I love their menu....pizza with a variety a toppings, thats it! Not too hard to decide what to eat! While we were enjoying our company, a party of 30 little kids and six parents sat right next to us. Oh boy, did it get noisy in there!!! We then headed over to Kim and Tom's house so the kids could have a water fight. Eli got way into the game...he even grabbed the hose and tried to drench Jesse. While in Muskegon, we stayed at Rob's aunts house. She was so excited to see us (likewise for us!). Rob ended up getting a pool for Eli to swim in as it was hotter than heck while we were there....we didn't miss the humidity at all!!

Rob was able to spend some time with his cousin Mark and I was able to spend some time with my friend Barb. Barb and I met at McDonalds and let the kids play and play...I won't even mention how long we were there!!! Eli had a blast playing with Jack, Sydney, and Issac. Barb sent us a picture of all the kids and Eli had to tell everyone who's who....so cute! It was so awesome to sit and talk with her....I sure miss seeing her and her family! Also during our time at McDonalds, my friend Cally ( we taught with each other in Ionia) was able to stop in with her hubby and sweet baby, Lila! What a special treat it was to see them. Amanda was able to make it over for a night...it is always great to see her. It was so hot that I totally forgot to take a picture of her. She is visiting in July so I will be sure to take several pics of her them.

One night, we went and visited Cory and Megan. We got to met there latest addition, Lainey. What a cutie she is! Eli had a blast playing with their daughter, Ava. The night before our visit, I was talking with Cory and we were both a little concerned how the two of them would get along...they are both strong willed! I think they only had one disagreement, but it was settled quickly.

The next day, we packed our belongings and headed back to Joe's house. On our way there, we stopped in Kalamazoo to visit The Wilders. Rob and Craig were great friends in high school. It had been 24 years since they had seen each other. He and his wife have five beautifu children. All of the kids were so willing to help each other...it was great to see! It was very late when we arrived in Indy. The next day, we hung out with my brother for the day until we had to head to the airport. Rob had to help him get a few things done around the house....one of which was cleaning the gutters....oh the smell was disgusting!

The only person I didn't get a chance to visit was my grandma. Eli and I had a delighful drive our to Sparta....I have always loved that drive. When we arrived at her house, we were told she was at the doctors. Darn it!

I hope I have included everyone we visited while back in Michigan. One parting thought about our trip back to Michigan....We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.