Thanksmas 2010 in Michigan

We made a quick trip back to Michigan for some fabulous family time...boy, did I need it! The boys were fabulous throughout the drive. It was the first time that my brothers, sister-in-law, and nieces were able to meet Jace. Rob and I couldn't believe how much older the girls (Kelsey and Kennedy)looked. Eli had a ball with his nana and papa. Jace spent the entire weekened following the kitty around! Our Thanksgiving meal was delicious. The day after, my mom and I hit the stores for some black Friday shopping (boy, does she love me because she got up at 3am to shop...she hates shopping!) Kennedy said she wanted to go but decided to stay warm in bed. We even loaded the kids up for a trip to Bronners (the worlds largest Christmas store). Each year we pick up our new Dickens' Village house. This year, we found a few great Chinese houses...so we HAD to buy them!

Saying good-bye always stinks but we have another trip planned for the summer.

Happy Halloween!!!

This year, Optimis Prime (aka Eli) was the master of YELLING Trick or Treat! He would let me know what house to go to by saying, "They have their lights on, we can go to that one....why don't these people have their light on?" He was crackin' me up! I can't believe how much candy he received (mind you we only went to one street of houses but people were given him handfuls. Earlier in the day, we went to a carnival. The boys had a blast in the maze (so much that they went through the maze five times!) We also took participated in the Pumpkin Fair at the library....lots of halloween fun for The Crosby Boys. Jace wasn't too sure of his Batman outfit to the point he would only wear the cape!

Very soon, our boys will be uncles. Justin's girlfriend, Faith, is expecting a little boy any day. Christmas is going to be really crazy this year.

I have included a lot of various fall pictures. We went to Fritzler Farms where we went through a monster...Eli loved it! They also had duck races, bikes, jumping mats, sand box filled with corn, and of course a pumpkin patch. We also went to a fall festival in the rain! Eli and Jace could have stayed there forever....it was a little chilly and wet so I had to move them along. WOW! We were busy in the month of October.

Eli is enjoying STRIDE. He has a Magna Doodle in the car that he plays with whenever we were on the road. The other day, he said, "Mama and Daddy...look!" We turned around and he had written Mama, Daddy, Jace, and Eli." We were so proud of him...and his smile was from ear to ear!

Jace is a little mimic...he copies everything Eli does. He will probably have to have two surgeries to close his cleft palate...oh my! He is also receiving speech services from STRIDE. Lately, he loves to growl and say boo. He can also be a stubborn little two year old....and he hates to get in trouble. He will cry and cry. He still is a champ at going to bed and taking naps. Life with two boys is wild and crazy. They love to wrestle, play chase, and just be silly little boys :)

This post is for you Heather...lol! Anytime you want to hang around two busy boys, just let us know...haha!

Farewell Dear Friend...You Will Always Be In Our Hearts

This post is a tribute to a dear friend I met a couple months before adopting Eli. She lost her fight to breast cancer this past week; leaving two beautiful girls and an amazing husband to continue her legacy. Eli and Emma (along with Zach) were friends in the Yixing Orphange. We celebrated each other Gotcha Day's, 1st "American" birthdays, and several milestones. Hopefully I can dig through some old photos to find our make shift red couch picture that we took when our three families got the kids together. It was amazing that three kids from one orphanage were within an hour apart (then we moved to Wyoming and a year later The Fisher's moved to Kentucky to be closer to family.)

Although tears only help dull the pain, my heart is heavy. She was an amazing mom who lifted the hearts of many. Today marks her 1st birthday in heaven. My friend, Amy, you will always be an angel looking down.


SO..here is the entire post from our visit!





We were able have the 2 other West Michigan families who adopted from Emma’s orphanage over to our home this past Friday evening. It was so, so special to see the three of them together. Emma was practicing saying their names before they came over, and she did pretty good. She could say Eli, Lai-lai for Zachary, and Stacie (Zachary’s sister).




Zachary is the most recent one to come home. He has been with his forever family for about a month. He is doing well, but he was a little shy with all the new faces--and rightly so. Everything is so different and new to him. I wondered if it was weird for him to see the other two kiddos away from the orphanage. Like Sue said: If only we could know what he was thinking about it all. He did seem to like the little play kitchen in our basement though and the pretend doctor’s kit! I had the privilege of seeing some smiles and giggles when I saw him again today, and his entire face just lights up! What a sweet boy he is.




Eli is doing wonderful, and he is such a fun bundle of energy! I loved how he had to check out all of my cabinets to see what was in there. Emma helped him find the snack drawer that has conveniently had the child-proof lock broken off of it!! I think both of them love their snacks! He and Emma seemed to interact a little more as they are so close in age. Emma Mei really liked Eli’s Mama, Ann, so sometimes she would have to hold the both of them. What a handful!! I tried to get a picture, but one of them would jump down before I could capture the shot.




This was the first time that the dads have gotten together and they all seemed to enjoy their time. The women were just happy that they cleaned up the kitchen for us. They are good men, eh? Ann, that cheesecake was delicious. I need to get that recipe from you. Unfortunately for my waist-line you left the rest of it at our house!!




I can’t wait until the next time. . .

Life with Two Boys!

School has started and so has a busy schedule. Having to bring Jace to daycare has been very difficult for me. His first trial week was the toughest on him but now he is into the groove of things. With Rob's work schedule, he and Jace are able to have a couple of days a week that they get to hang out together. Jace will follow dad around..its almost like he is lost without Eli! When Eli gets home, he is Jace's hero. Jace mimics Eli's every move (we are on constant watch as Eli is great at pulling some fast ones). Most of the time, Eli loves to have his little brother follow him everywhere. There are definitely times that Eli needs some alone time.

Nana and Papa headed to Michigan this past week. Eli and Jace are very heart-broken that their little buddies have left for the season (why they wouldn't want to put up with the outrageous wind is beyond me...haha). On our journey home each day, Eli would ask if they wer going to be home. I would explain the same thing everyday. Eli would always reply, "Well, we need to pack up the Yukon and go see them in Michigan." Oh my, how I hard it was not to fulfill his wishes!"

Sunday was a wonderful family day spent in Denver. After Eli went to his CCD class, we ventured into the big city for lunch, a trip to Bass Pro Shop (aka The Gun Store), and then onto the zoo. On he way to the zoo, Eli spouts out Z-O-O! I looked at Rob...stunned! I couldn't believe what I just heard my 4 year old say. Our trip was fabulous. The kids had a blast. Eli finally got to ride the train but I do believe the Merry-Go_Round beat out the train ride! Jace didn't want to get off and Eli was thrilled to ride Marty (Madagascar is a major hit in our household...we even have a special Move It, Move It dance).

Settling In

Wow..where have the past two weeks gone? We arrived home in the middle of the night from one long day of traveling. We really didn't have any major hiccups (except running through the Beijing Airport (which included customs). Ended up having five minutes to spare! Border Patrol/Immigration at LAX was a bit interesting. We waited almost an hour in a room filled with illegal immigrants. They managed to screw up our paperwork and we received a S.S/ card with Jace's Chinese name. Now we have to wait to get all of our paperwork back and go to our local SS office and apply for a new one. URGH!!

Eli and my parents made there way to our house around 4pm. We couldn't stop hugging him and giving him kisses...we missed our wild boy. Eli looked so big and dark (the boy lived outside the entire 18 days he was there). He even jumped in the pool a few times (he had to check out his wet hair...so excited!). Eli was shocked to see little man Jace playing on the floor. They have come a long way in two weeks. Just like many siblings, we have our toy wars! Jace loves to follow and copy every move Eli does...its hilarious. My parents adore their new grandson. My dad must have played outside with Jace for two hours.

Jace could really do without Benelli (our dog). Even though he will now tolerate Benelli, that wasn't the case for the first week. If Benelli was on the deck, Jace would walk all the way around the couch so he didn't have to walk by the screen door.

Sleeping was quite interesting during the first week we were home. Jace ended up sleeping with his light on (refused to only have his nightlight on). Knock on wood, he seems to be in a routine now. He loves to eat...fruit, veggies, noodles, rice, oatmeal, etc.

Pack Up the Bags, We're Headed Home!

Wow! It feel great to write this last post in China...nothing against China, but being gone for 15 days is a long time. Jace has no idea what he has in store for him at his new home with his forever family...a brother, toys, his own bedroom, drink water from the faucet, oh my! Eli is going to be bouncing off the walls after spending time away from his home for two weeks.

Jace has grown so much in the past week. He is able to pull up his own pants, put on a shirt (we have to help with the sleeves), put on his shoes and velcro's each pair, puts caps in a bottle and takes them out, feeds himself and many more little things. He is so calm and doesn't let much bother him. He even went with me down to the lobby (let Rob stayed in the room) to order pizza! One of the first things on my need to find list is underwear. I searched on the internet and was only able to find 3T...he needs 2T. Any suggestions where to find 2T unders would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you friends and family for your emails, kind words and encouragement while we were on our journey to our forever family. Nana, Papa, and Uncle Joe thanks for spending the last 16 days with Eli. We know he can be a handful! Faith and Justin thanks for stocking our fridge with items we need to get through a couple of days..the thought of not having to run out for fresh milk is priceless. Amanda, thanks for keeping our blog up to date. Without your willingness, our friends and family wouldn't have been able to follow along. Ashley and Brandon thanks for keeping Benelli at your house. It was great not to worry about our dog stuck in the heat.

Our next post will gladly be made from the comforts of our home. We will definitely include a picture of our new forever family!

Love,
Rob, Andrea (Ann), Eli and Jace Crosby

The Stars and Stripes...A Beautiful Sight

Thursday was our day to go to the U.S. Consulate for last piece of paperwork to sign and the swearing-in ceremony. The drive to the Consulate took about 45 minutes...the traffic here is crazy plus they have just repaved the streets and haven't put in the white lines. I really don't think the white lines would make a difference. The cars just weave in and out, not really looking for other vehicles...sure madness for most US citizens. Finally, our little van made it to the Consulate. Going up the six sets of escalators, knowing we were getting closer just made my heart beat faster. Then, I saw the American flag, something I think we may take for granted. Man, did it feel great to walk past the flag. A million thoughts were racing through my head...all of the soldiers that are serving various places, our vets who have defended our country, but above all, our freedom. Something that isn't found naturally in China. I can't imagine being a farmer my whole life and then one day the government tells you that your land will turn into condo's but they will give you jobs as taxi drivers. UNREAL! So, filled with many emotions, it was great to be in a room full of American families, all of knowing the reams of paperwork we have filled out, the money we have saved for this amazing adventure but no one needed to talk about that. We were celebrating the fact that we have been blessed to have our sweet ones in ours arms. Everyone sharing stories of their past two weeks, letting others know where they are from...strangers, united by the love of adoption. For this is the end of all the paperwork; the I-797, LOA, Article 5, DS230, TA (adoption terms are like special education terms...a dime a dozen). It has been a long and difficult path to motherhood but it is great to say that I am extremely glorified to be a family of four, mom to two boys, and a wife of an amazing husband. It is bitter sweet to almost have our journey to China end but it will be great to have our life resume back in the states!!