Sonlight Affiliate

I have decided to become a Sonlight Affiliate. I love their company so much that I want to tell others about it.

Here's what they have to say:
"Sonlight is the leading literature-based homeschool curriculum provider. Families in the U.S. and around the world enjoy our literature-rich, internationally-focused curriculum. Our goal is to empower parents to nurture enthusiastic, life-long learners who are motivated and equipped to follow Christ wherever He leads and in whatever He calls them to do. Our curriculum comes from an Evangelical Christian perspective.

We offer complete curriculum in all subjects for Preschool through 12th grade. Our specialty is our Core Programs, which are literature-based packages that weave together History, Geography, Bible and Literature."

There are SO many reasons why we love Sonlight:

1. It all started for me with their catalog. Their free annual catalog is full of amazing Sonlight stories along with most of their products, broken down by core. This year, when it came in the mail, I spent a week pouring over every square inch. I return to it often to get ideas. I get so excited to see what is ahead for my kids in the upcoming cores!
2. I have a Master's degree in English specializing in children's literature. I love the book choices that Sonlight gives, and I love how the core subjects really are weaved together. Tonight we were talking about the Quakers and Puritans in one of our history books, and I was able to refer to our literature book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and how "the witch" in that book is really a Quaker.
3. We feel like buying the core is worth every penny. In kindergarten for Aidan, I got the instructor's guide and then found the books on my own. We loved the curriculum, but we were scared away by the price. For 1st and 2nd grade, we used their booklists from their catalog, getting them piecemeal used or off of amazon or from the library, while we supplemented with other curriculum. I had to patch together my own version of the reading lists and schedule all the books on my own. Now, I absolutely adore the planning part of homeschooling. Seriously. But the job of planning out all those books (at least the ones I could find) plus other books I supplemented with about did me in. For 3rd grade, we decided to fully use the Sonlight plan, and what a difference! The instructor's guide is fully planned out, all 36 weeks, in a 4 or 5 day schedule. The books are layered together in such a way that we can have amazing discussions about, for instance, the Aztecs, Incans, and Mayans in History, talk about what the Bible has to say about their belief systems and how they are different, look at maps and discuss where and when these peoples lived, and read literature related to these peoples. We are able to talk deeply because we are studying deeply. And we're having so much fun! This thoughtful weaving together of ideas coupled with the lesson plans (with extra notes, maps, and discussion points) make the core a steal of a deal--and you get all the books!
4. Since we have 3 kids, and we all use Sonlight, we can spread the costs out on all 3 kids. Also, having the books available to them means they will be read and read again. The book choices are so excellent that there is no risk of them just collecting dust. Right now we already have P3/4, P4/5, and cores A-D. From here out we just have to buy Aidan's core and then the instructor's guide for the other cores (since we didn't use the IGs at that time).
5. Language Arts is now included with every core. So not only do we get Bible, History, Geography, and Literature, we add Reading and Writing, with optional Vocab/Phonics scheduled. Sonlight also has recommendations for Spelling, Handwriting, Math, Science, and electives. You can even get a multi-subject package and order it all at one time!
6. Since 2005, Sonlight has been able to give 50% of their profits to missions work. Read more about it here.

Potential Sonlight customers can get free personalized help from a Sonlight Curriculum Advisor. And Sonlight ships anywhere in the world.

Get your free Sonlight catalog and discover the way you wish you'd been taught!

Still not sure? Check out Sonlight's web site for yourself! sonlight.com

Difficult season, but much more aware

We are in the midst of a difficult season again with one of our kids, but this time we're much more aware. I wrote about it before here.

We are having nightly bedtime battles, often a couple of hours long. Lots of spitting, kicking, biting, trying to steal my glasses, running away, laughing...out of control. Today we had one because I complimented her. An hour later, I felt like I had run a marathon. Insane. Cried, read my Bible, and decided to call a friend and get out and talk. The funny thing was, we spent 2 hours talking about our kids, but she UNDERSTOOD COMPLETELY. There are no words for that.

I know God called us to this battle. Adoption is not for the weak. And I know we are not alone. We've been reminded of that so many times lately. Here. Here. And through good friends.

"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."--Hebrews 12:1

This is not a sprint, this is a marathon. And it will be lifelong. But when God sets it before us, He will give us what we need moment by moment.

I am so thankful for a community of believers to hold me up when the going gets rough.

I am so humbled that I often treat God in the same ways, fighting against what is best from a loving God who knows me better than I know myself.

I am beyond astounded at the husband God gave me to run this race with. He shows me such selflessness and cares for our children so well. Love his post tonight.

I love it that God is using these times with her to give us countless opportunities to speak truth to her heart, to share the gospel, to go to war with the lies in her heart. That she is a bad girl. That she is unlovely. That she is not wanted. The she is not accepted.

I'm in a small group right now going through Ann Voskamp's 1000 Gifts. Learning to choose joy, especially when everything feels like it is falling apart. Because it is through joy and thankfulness that we battle these lies and dig deep into the Father's heart.

"Isn't this the crux of the gospel? The good news that all those living in the land of the shadow of death have been birthed into new life, that the transfiguration of a suffering world has already begun. That suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart--and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty. Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son?" (page 100)

All is grace.

Orphan Sunday

On November 4th, as well as the surrounding Sundays, thousands of events will echo across America and around the globe, all sharing a single goal: that God's steadfast love for the orphan will also stir in our hearts.  From many sources, one voice. Orphan Sunday is an opportunity to excite family, community, church and friends to God's call to care for the orphan. As Orphan Sunday approaches, we pray you will dedicate time on one Sunday in honor of the fatherless. Here are a few helpful and practical recourses for how to spend an Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans' Orphan Sunday.org website: Partnership Packages - Ideas and action points from over 20 different orphan, adoption & foster care organizations so you can find an activity that fits your church. (Be sure to check out Lifesong's Partnership Packages as well!) The Orphan's Table - Experiences impact us more deeply than words. On Orphan Sunday, share a meal eaten by orphans around the world.  Gather with family, small group or church for the meal, discussion and prayer. More Resources - Check out OrphanSunday.org for other church resources such as sermon starters, worship songs, bible studies, bulletin inserts, prayer guides, and much more! We are hopeful you and your church family will honor orphans by participating in Orphan Sunday.

gluten free

Over a year ago Aidan had a bunch of health issues. After many, many tests, we cut way back on dairy for him. It worked! We tried switching him back about 6 months later, and we immediately saw the symptoms return. Back to the dairy restrictions.

This fall, we put him on a gluten free diet for a 6-week trial. After a couple of weeks in, we knew we were in this long term. We saw so many immediate changes, especially with his mood and his appetite.

I just took the kids to the pediatrician and I wanted to share our results with her and ask some questions. She said right away that she could see the change in his color. She said he even looks healthier! We agreed that we were on the right track with him. And I was so excited that he's gained 2 lbs in less than a year! That is HUGE for him!

school year update

We are LOVING most of our school choices for this year! We had so much fun a few weeks ago going to visit Chicago: 2 zoos, Navy Pier, and the Field Museum. Aidan and I were SUPER excited at the Early Americas exhibit...lined up EXACTLY with what we've been reading about. Aidan's favorite part? Seeing all the weapons in person. :)

I've loved seeing Iona pipe up with Latin words she has learned from Aidan's studies. She likes to come over where I'm working with Brendan and try to weasel in the correct answer to his work.

I've loved seeing Aidan get excited about reading his Bible and memorizing verses for AWANA. He taught himself to read silently, and he knows how to find his Bible passage I have noted for him to read.

I've loved seeing Brendan practically drool over seeing workboxes set up for him. He is often the first one to start and finish. He is such a hard worker.

What has not worked:

We had to drop Math U See Primer for a while. I hit a BIG FAT wall with Brendan AND Iona. After talking with some friends and doing some research, we made the decision to start using MEP Math, a free online math program, for the rest of the year. I am using the Reception level with both of them, though I have them staggered about a week or so apart to prevent Iona from giving Brendan all the answers. :) It is going SO WELL!! I love how well planned the lessons are. We adapt some of them from classroom to home use, but I love how much practice we are getting on some very new concepts for Brendan...just taught him what "above" means. It's been great to fill in some of those gaps with him since we brought him home from China last year.

Things are also getting interesting with teaching Brendan how to read. He does not have a bunch of the prereading skills necessary, so we're finding ourselves backing up a lot and doing a LOT of extra practice. We are possibly going to get a complete eval done at the public school just to see what is going on for sure, but we have some possible ideas from his speech therapists. Don't know if we will do services at the school, since we had a rough experience with that in the past, but we can at least get free evals done and work from there. I've been doing a lot of reading lately on learning disabilities and looking into some alternative learning-to-read curricula just in case we need to switch next year. There is so much great info available that I'm having a hard time getting through it in a timely manner. Or at least as fast as I want to!

School plans for 2012-2013

Since we started this school year late, at the end of Sept, due to bringing home Brendan, we are still going strong in most subjects, though I'm getting a bit weary and ready to plan for next year. I am thinking we may move to a year-round model of school, though we kind of do that now. I really like the options given for year-round school here. I'm not sure how we will do it exactly--3 weeks on, 1 off; 6 weeks on, 1 off; or possibly just taking natural breaks when we need them to enjoy the weather or get well or just rest. I do like the idea of schooling through the heat of the summer and then taking more breaks in the fall and spring, when we WANT to be outside.

Next year I will have 1 in 3rd grade, kindergarten, and preschool. I have most of our curriculum figured out and purchased, and we are making some big changes this year.

Iona--preschool:
I will be working through Sonlight's P4/5 curriculum with Brendan and Iona.The reading time should be lots of fun, and it will encorporate Bible, world cultures, and science as well. I'll be starting Iona through the Developing the Early Learner workbooks--I'm not sure if she is ready yet, but we'll try. I may also add Get Ready for the Code since she is showing some interest in learning to read. And I'll start her on the preschool handwriting book with Handwriting Without Tears. I bought Math U See's Primer book just in case, but again, I'm not sure if she will be ready for it. I'm planning to track her learning along with Brendan, but I don't want to throw too much at her at once. I do have the K4 program from Confessions of a Homeschooler, but since the Letter of the Week stuff was so time-consuming, I'm not sure if I'll do the next level. I may instead just pull the pieces from it I want to highlight. Iona does not like me to just give her work to do and walk away to help her siblings...she will act out and run away and refuse to try most of the time when I do that. I need to take the time next year to sit with her more and help her build confidence in her abilities and show her she is loved through my time.   

Brendan--kindergarten:
Brendan will also work through Sonlight's P4/5 curriculum at the same time as Iona. I expect he will be more interested in the workbooks than she will be. Since Brendan has learned to write his name and is very interested in learning to write his letters, we may even start the preschool HWT book this summer. I also bought the kindergarten workbook for him. And he is definitely ready to start Math U See's Primer book. Brendan is a hard worker and often is the first one done with his workboxes, so I want to strike a balance with challenging him and getting his caught up with also just experiencing the easiness of kindergarten. He will continue with speech therapy--he understands so much of what we say, but he can't communicate with us as well because of his speech delays. I am going to slowly work through Sonlight's Language Arts K to teach him to read, but I'll admit I'm nervous that I won't know if he is getting the reading down if I can't understand what he says. I'm heard Sonlight's learn to read program is very gentle, and I think it will work much better for Brendan than the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, which I used with Aidan with complete success. Brendan loves to sit and "read" a stack of books to his stuffed dog, so I think it's worth a try to teach him this next school year.

Aidan--grade 3:
We are making a big shift this year in curriculum to Sonlight Core D, American History Year 1 of 2.
We did use Sonlight for his kindergarten year, but we've dabbled with it here and there since, just not using the full program. Every year when I get the Sonlight catalog, I pour over it. I LOVE the choices they make for junior high and high school especially. Since we use their booklists anyway, I decided to make the complete switch and allow them to plan out the year as well! Thankfully, I was able to buy the IG AND Language Arts 3 used for very cheap, and I've been able to get a hold of all the books separately. This was a huge shift for us because it meant we needed to step away from Story of the World for history, which he LOVES. What we ultimately decided was that he just loves history in general, not just SOTW, and with Sonlight, we will revisit SOTW in middle school. It also means we will stop the scope and sequence of using Peace Hill Press for grammar and writing and instead use Sonlight's program. I think it will be a good fit for us. And I love that Sonlight includes a list of age appropriate chores and skills they should learn.

Bible--I'm don't think we'll use the exact Bible Sonlight recommends because Aidan already has one we want him to use. The 3 kids also do AWANA, so we may or may not also do Sonlight's scrupture memory program. We will continue to read missionary stories, and with this core, since we will be studying American History, we will be praying for different American Indian tribes. We may still continue to work on some hymns. I also have a devotional for kids that focuses on animals and character building and God's character that we may try out. This area is one of the areas I'm still a little up in the air about. I do know we will include all the children in on this.

History/Literature/Readers/Geography/Language Arts--Sonlight Core D. We will use the Readers D Advanced, 5 day, since Aidan is such a voracious reader. I like that the LA is tied in with the history and literature.

Math--Math U See Gamma

Spelling--All About Spelling Level 3

Handwriting--Handwriting Without Tears Grade 3, Cursive. I have the books for grades 3 and 4. We tried this in Grade 2 and he wasn't ready, so we shelved it for a year.

Science--Apologia's Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day and the notebooking journal. I may pull in the littles for some of the activities for this.

Art and Music--Harmony Fine Arts Grade 3. Aidan will also take an outside art class, since he's really interested in art.

Latin--Prima Latina

PE--We will continue with the co-op we are in, which includes PE, art, and nature classes, along with periodic field trips and community service opportunities. Sonlight also has some PE ideas in the IG.

Review of school plans for 2011-2012

Brendan and Iona, Preschool:
Their main curriculum this year was the Letter of the Week curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler. Next week is Z week, so we're almost done! I loved a lot of things about this curriculum, but it did take a lot of grunt work to get the pages printed, laminated, and cut each week. It was a good basis for me to work on colors, numbers, letters, patterns, etc. with the littles. I am definitely ready for a break from it, though!

We also supplemented with Sonlight's P3/4 reading. We didn't always keep to their schedule...we went through spurts with the reading and we are still planning to finish it up this summer. We didn't get to many of the activities with it, mainly just the reading. But the reading is excellent, and I think we will be returning to these books again and again!

Aidan, Grade 2:
Bible: We are finishing reading through the gospels and Acts using a study guide (Foundations 2) from Homeschooling Bible. Honestly, we abandoned the study guide partway through and have just been reading the bible and talking about it. We've also been reading a few missionary stories and working on memory verses for AWANA. This bible time is not just done with Aidan; the others kids are there too. I meant to also work through teaching the kids 6 hymns, but that never really got accomplished like I wanted. And we were going to be praying for unreached people groups around the world, but that also went by the wayside as we got busy. I'm hoping to work on some of those things with the kids this summer.

History: We are continuing to plug away at Story of the World 2: The Middle Ages. This is one of Aidan's favorite subjects. Since we didn't start school until end of Sept due to bringing Brendan home from China, we still have a ways to go until we are done with SOTW. While we love a lot of things about SOTW, we will be using a different curriculum next year.

Science: We are close to done with Apologia's Zoology 1. We used the Zoology 1 notebooking journal with it, and it has gone very well. Aidan has loved our study of flying creatures. We've taken things a little slower than my planned schedule because he's having lots of fun with it. We didn't do as much nature study as I would have liked, especially after the weather got colder, but we hope to spend sometime nature journalling this summer.

Language Arts--Grammar: We used First Language Lessons 2 this year and finished it already. I like how short the lessons are, and Aidan has seemed to retain it.

Language Arts--Spelling: We have loved All About Spelling Level 2. I feel like it's been a lot of review for Aidan, but I also feel like he knows the spelling rules a lot better. He really likes spelling and he's good at it.

Language Arts--Writing: We have finished Writing With Ease 2 this year. It got pretty repetitive and we were both bored with it, so we just did the lessons left that I wanted to make sure he understood. We will be trying something else next year.

Language Arts--Literaure and Readers: We've pulled from Sonlight's read aloud (core C) and readers (grade 3) list. We are very behind in our read alouds, but we have all summer still. Aidan has gotten through all of his readers and he's working through the Geronimo Stilton chapter book series now..basically anything he can get his hands on. The boy loves to read!

Art and Music: We are usin the lesson plans from Harmony Fine Arts for Grade 2. Aidan loves art but not music so much. Brendan, however, always joins us for music and LOVES it. I really like this material. Aidan probably wishes we could go a bit faster with the art lessons, but we supplement with an outside co-op art class.

Math: We love Math-U-See's program after switching from Saxon Math last year. This year Aidan is working through the Beta book, and I assume we will work through it all summer to keep math facts straight in his head. Math is hard for him, but I've seen such an improvement in his ability and confidence since using MUS.

Doing better...it's been a while!

Yes, we ARE doing better since my last post in October. That, my goodness, was a difficult season. We are receiving therapy from The Baby Fold, our local homestudy agency. A therapist comes over once a week to work with the kids together and especially help Brendan to settle into a closer attachment to our family.

Since that post:

• Aidan turned 8! We had a fun family day + grandpa at Legoland in Schaumberg. Aidan loves all things Lego Ninjago and has recently discovered Angry Birds.
• We had our first Christmas with Brendan home. Fun times!!
• We were all really sick between Thanksgiving and Christmas...lots of sharing of germs!
• I've had numerous injuries to deal with since New Years...my knee, my foot, and my neck. Tried physical therapy for my knee, and when that didn't work I went to my wonderful chiropractor. He used a high-powered laser on my knee for a while and it's much better. My foot seems to be fine now, and my neck is better but not 100% yet. Gotta work on that posture!
• From Feb-May, we averaged 5 doctor appts/week. It has been a very expensive spring for us.
• I got the privilege to travel with my dad and sis to the Hamptons in New York for my second cousin's wedding! It was SO nice to get away for a few days, even if it was a whirlwind trip. I want another cannoli....
• Last weekend Iona turned 4! We took the family to the circus and had a family party at our house the next day. Our little princess is in love with the Disney princesses and dress-up and at the same time loves to be uber active.
• I just had sinus surgery yesterday, so I actually have a bunch of down time to blog a little! I can't do much for the next 2 weeks. I hope to have some time to sleep, price clothes for our garage sale, plan for school next year, and read, not in that order.

Coming up this summer:

• Another adoption garage sale in June. We are THRILLED at all the wonderful donations we have received. We finally got our tax return, so we're trying to pay off the last $4000+.
• Brendan's 6th birthday in June, and his first one with our family! Our sweet boy loves all things Cars and crafts.
• Finishing up this school year and planning for next...not sure about our start date yet for fall. Curriculum post to come...

Home from China FAQ and a plea for help

I have had zero time for blogging since we've been home. Once we got back, we dealt with health issues for all three kids and I sprained my ankle. I still don't have time to blog, but we are desperate to get this information out. Thank you to all who have been praying for us.

How is your family doing?

We are equally struggling and doing well. We love having three kids and the transition to that has been very smooth. However, each individual child has been struggling with the changes, and that has been exhausting for us. We've been overwhelmed at the immensity of our kids' personal challenges.

How is Brendan adapting?

We are past the honeymoon period. He and Aidan get along great. He doesn't like Iona much yet. Brendan has been attached to Daddy from day 1, and that has not changed. When Pete went back to work, Brendan would not look at me at all by the afternoon. That has gotten better, but even tonight Brendan got very upset at me wanting to put him to bed...he definitely wanted Daddy. We have the biggest power struggles with him at meal times. He is learning that we love him but we are also in charge. I am learning patience.

Has he learned any English words?

Brendan understands a heck of a lot more than he can speak. We've been home just over six weeks, and we've seen more confidence in him in the words he says. He is speaking a little louder, where before he would barely even whisper to us when speaking English. He can say hi, more, please, please may I be excused (with help), Aidan, Iona, Daddy, Momma, apple, cars, book, the ABC song, amen,

Is Aidan feeling better?

For those who didn't hear, Aidan was having chronic diarrhea that started about 2 weeks before we left. It was not bad while we were gone, but then returned just as we came home. We could not keep up with it and he was losing weight. The doctor ran a bunch of tests, and we discovered that he had too much yeast in his gut. He is now dairy-free, sugar-free, and white flour-free. He is taking a strong probiotic each day, and now he can tolerate some of the above foods in small amounts. We will be doing this for the next few months and then see what he can take.

How is Aidan doing with his new brother?

Aidan has adapted really well with all the changes. He shares a room with Brendan and has been willing to share all but one set of his toys (including the ninja turtles!). He loves having Brendan in the bunk beds. He has been a great leader, helping Brendan with some of the day-to-day routine. And he does it happily. We have seen an increase in anger in him, and a few more tears than usual. Just before we traveled we had to stop his occupational therapy for his sensory processing disorder (he is sensory-avoidant) due to insurance changes. We've realized that his anger comes when he is in "fight" mode, and we need to work on helping him self-regulate. We need to find a new therapist (probably out of town) who is covered by our insurance, does specific sensory therapy, and will allow me in the room so I can learn. Until then, we're trying some things with him around the house.

How is Iona doing?

This could be a whole post in itself. Iona had a difficult time with us leaving her to get Brendan, and we didn't realize just how much for a little while after we had been home. We are working to rebuild trust and felt safety with her and disarm her fear. She has been over-the-top defiant, screaming and laughing at inappropriate times. She does seem to enjoy Brendan, and sometimes they play together so beautifully. We've learned to decode Brendan's squeals to know whether he's happy or not, and usually she is involved. We've had to change most of our parenting strategies, and it's been a hard but good exercise to unlearn what isn't working or helpful. I just went to a conference with speaker Karen Purvis, author of The Connected Child. I'm not going to rehash the conference, because I think Karen, Jennifer, and Angela each summed it up in amazing ways, and I just don't have time. It was SO worth it for me to go, and we bought some videos to help us learn and process the material and parenting method. I had already read most of the book before the conference and had started some of the technique the week before, and we were seeing some progress. Then I went away and got some awesome information and encouragement and rest. This last week has been incredibly difficult, and we started school on top of it. We've wondered jokingly at various times if Iona has SPD but is a sensory-seeker, and at the conference I became even more convinced. When we find an OT for Aidan we plan to get her tested as well.

How are you two doing?

We are having fun with our newer, larger family. Nothing major has caught us off-guard. However, we are exhausted at the end of each day and don't know how we are going to get done what we need to in the evenings and wake up and start all over again. Only with Jesus. We are thankful for Purvis' book and the new strategies we are learning. We are also on a waiting list with our home study agency to receive play therapy in our home for our kids for free...we should be able to start in the next couple of months. We are excited to get some new parenting tools from that.

How can we help?

We are thankful to all who have asked this. I have not really known how to respond, because, due to attachment-building, we can't really leave the kids with a sitter and go out. Here are some other ideas:

• Come over and hang out with one of us here with the kids. Bring your kids if you want (as long as they are healthy!). The other one will get out for some respite time. We will not ask you to parent our kids, but we'd love it if you could hang out with the others when we have to hunt one down. If you educate at home, maybe we could work out some combined school time.
• Help us clean our house. This is very difficult when we are cooking, teaching, and dealing with orphanage dust.
• Pete will be on a business trip for 4 days in Oct. I could use support especially on those days!
• Invite us out to a park. We would rather not go to other people's homes just yet, but a park would be delightful, especially with the weather so nice.
• If you have another idea, please offer it up!

We would call YOU personally, and we really want to hear how YOU are doing, but life is a bit exhausting at the moment and the mental energy to do that has disappeared.

Please call me (home phone preferred, but you can try my cell) or email me. I am barely on Facebook right now, and since they've made all their changes I don't get email notifications of new messages.

Lifesong Zambia

Brush to Berries from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

"Simply giving this person money is treating the symptoms rather than the underlying disease and will enable him to continue with his lack of self-discipline... a better solution would be to develop a relationship that says, we are here to walk with you and to help you use your gifts and abilities to avoid being in this situation in the future'" (An excerpt from the book, When Helping Hurts)

Lifesong is serving the people of Zambia... the orphaned, the at-risk, and the poor... by utilizing the land that is, like the people, so full of potential. Lifesong farms-Zambia reaped its first strawberry harvest in June, and local grocers have been purchasing the berries. With additional acres to farm, we are hoping to process some of the berries and begin marketing Lifesong Farms Strawberry Jam.

By harvesting fruit, we are able to serve more orphans by providing the gift of a job at Lifesong's gardens and self worth to an orphan's caregiver. We are also able to provide future employment for our kids as they transition into adult living, develop a system to raise funds to help cover operational costs, and develop expertise that can be replicated in multiple countries where Lifesong serves. Most of all, we are seeking to glorify Jesus as we teach others how He walked.

**GIVEAWAY:

1st PRIZE: Lifesong is giving away a 1-night hotel stay for the LIVE ORPHAN SUNDAY event in Kansas City!!! Let me just tell you, this event will be FABULOUS!!!

2nd PRIZE: Lifesong is giving away FREE Gobena Coffee for 1 year - 2 lbs per month shipped straight to your home.

HOW do you enter? Well, I'm glad you asked! There are several ways to enter. PLEASE LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT ON THIS LIFESONG POSTING FOR EACH ENTRY, including your email address so Lifesong is able to contact you!!!

1. Share how the Lord is working in and through your adoption/orphan care ministry (1 entry)

2. Re-post this Zambia blog posting on YOUR blog to share what the Lord has been doing at Lifesong Zambia (1 entry)

3. Tell about an Orphan Sunday event you had or attended in the past (1 entry)

4. Tell your plans for THIS YEAR's Orphan Sunday on Nov. 6th (1 entry)

5. Re-post this on your facebook wall (1 entry)

6. Re-post this on your twitter page (1 entry)

7. Post on YOUR blogs, facebook, or twitter and tell Lifesong that I sent you (1 entry)

8. Tell what you think about the 'Brush to Berries' video - what moved you, what stood out to you, what are you excited about? (1 entry)

9. Become a fan of Lifesong on facebook here (1 entry)

10. Send an email to info AT lifesongfororphans DOT org asking to receive our monthly updates (1 entry)

PLEASE leave a separate comment on Lifesong's post for EACH entry, including your email address so they are able to contact you!

***Giveaway starts immediately and ends at midnight on Monday, October 3rd.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tuesday in China we had our embassy appointment. Embassy in China is so much different than embassy in Ethiopia. Totally different building setup, and our guide could not go in with us in China. It went pretty easily. After we got back, we did a group picture on the famous staircase. We met the group for dinner that night at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel.

Wednesday we went to Shamain Island with another family from our group to do a little more shopping. We had lunch at the infamous Lucy's. Now we can say we've been to Lucy's restaurant in Ethiopia and China. After we ate we looked up and saw mousetraps in the ceiling. Oops. We did get to the pool one more time in the afternoon, and then we just grabbed dinner at the little convenience store and Starbucks. We also got our packing done.

Thursday morning (this morning) we took a private car from our hotel in Guangzhou to Hong Kong. We were worried about carsickness, but we should have worried about the crazy driving!! I just kept praying that God's covering would be over our car. We had a wonderful driver who got us door to door in just under 3 hours, but it was a wild ride! You cannot pay me enough to drive in China. NO WAY. Even the driver said Chinese driving was crazy. Hong Kong driving was much more civilized. We did get to see some nice scenery on the way, and Brendan did very well in the car. No one threw up. We were handed forms to fill out to leave China and to enter Hong Kong right as we left the first hotel, and I ended up having to hand it over to Pete partway through filling them out because I was starting to feel sick.

We got to our Hong Kong hotel at about lunchtime, got checked in, and ate in the hotel. Then we all took naps, since Pete and I didn't sleep well last night. Did I mention I am thrilled Brendan takes a 2-hour nap each day? After naps, we inquired about taking the hotel shuttle to downtown so we could take photos, but by that time it would have put us back to our room pretty late, and it was more expensive than we thought. We went to the hotel playground and then walked around the airport a little, locating where we will need to go in the morning and getting some cheaper food to eat. We hope to get to bed early tonight because we need to leave our room, ready to go, with luggage, by 6 am. By the time you all are going to bed Thurs night, we will be taking off for home!!

We are so ready to be done with hotels, airplanes, and eating out. Aidan and Iona, we can't wait to give you big hugs!! We will call you from Detroit on Friday afternoon!

Sunday, Monday

On Sunday I skipped out on the folk art museum trip with the group because I had been up most of the night with an upset stomach. I started on the Cipro I brought with, and I'm feeling a lot better now. I just mainly laid around a lot Sunday during the day. We did get to have pizza for dinner with a family from our travel group, which was nice.

Today we went shopping near the embassy and got a lot of souvenirs. We also had Brendan's tb test read...no tb! It was really hot out...in the 90s. I hear there's been cooler weather back home, and we are looking forward to it!! Brendan had his first frappicino and Subway sandwich and seemed to like both. He's napping now. Later on we plan to go to a steak house in the hotel for dinner, since today is our anniversary. We hope to take Brendan to the pool later when it cools down a little. If not tonight, then tomorrow. :)

Brendan is such a happy little boy. He's become quite the chatterbox with us in the room. We've enjoyed watching him play with play doh and bubbles for the first time. He has a few English words: hello, Iona, Brendan, yellow (we only heard this once). We are itching to get home and reunite our family...we think he and Aidan will get along very well.

Tomorrow is our embassy interview, and then we'll get his visa on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning we'll take a van to Hong Kong for our flight out Friday morning. We'll be home Friday evening!

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Sorry I haven't written in a few days. It's been pretty low key, and we've been traveling.

Thursday in Zhengzhou, we basically stayed around the hotel and rested and packed. We did go next door to a bookstore and found a few books for the kids in Mandarin. We also got the rest of our paperwork in hand from our guide. We had a good time laughing with Teresa about cultural confusion and funny language translations.

Friday morning we left for the airport for our flight to Guangzhou. The flight was almost 2 hours long and pretty uneventful. Brendan was excited to go on the plane, but once he was on, he was a bit unsure. We noticed him crying at one point on the trip, towards the end. We made it in one piece and got our luggage pretty quickly. And we found our guide, Amy, right away.

Guangzhou reminds us a lot of Hawaii. It's very beautiful and very hot. It's a bit easier to breathe here, too. It felt so go to be in the hands of a guide who speaks almost perfect English and who really understood us. (Amy is Lineker's wife.) Our hotel is very swanky. Amazing. It's a nice change from the previous part of our trip. And Brendan loves it because our window looks out into the pool. :)

Friday evening we met up with one family from our travel group and went to dinner. Brendan and I went to bed pretty fast after that. Poor kid had basically no nap, and I was exhausted too.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel...SO MUCH better than all the other hotel breakfasts we had. We will be eating a lot better here. :) We then had the kids' photos taken and the medical exam completed. We found out Brendan has a hernia, so we'll get that checked out when we get home. He passed the exam, even the eye test, which we were really thankful for. Then we did some grocery shopping and bought Brendan a pair of shoes...he loves them because they light up. :) This afternoon we have our paperwork party and we'll drop off our laundry, and then we're doing a group dinner at the Japanese restaurant at the hotel. I hear they have unbelieveably good steaks.

Tomorrow we are visiting a local folk art museum and just relaxing. We can't take Brendan to the pool until Monday, after his tb test is read. He's so excited to go to the pool. Our hotel has a little playground, and there are two more within walking distance from the hotel.

Aidan and Iona, we miss you so much! We are coming home in about a week now! Sending you lots of love and hugs and kisses.

Wednesday in Zhengzhou

On Wednesday morning we went with Teresa to the hospital around the corner so Brendan could see a doctor. We had to go in and request an appointment and then wait until our number was called. Someone in the hospital lobby gave her a doctor recommendation, so she requested an appointment with that doctor. The doc only sees about 27 patients on Wednesday mornings, and we were #25. We were thankful for God’s intervention there.

We decided to walk to a nearby mall to get some sandals for Pete while we waited for our appointment. We were able to see the mall ceremony for the opening of the building. The ladies inside marched like soldiers and spoke in unison when we went in. It was definitely a different experience! We were able to find some sandals on clearance, thankfully, so we got those and then went back over to the hospital to wait.

I am SO thankful for the medical care we have in the US. Wow. We were at a University hospital. It was dirty and loud. We went over to the pediatric outpatient area and sat in this hallway with all the other waiting families. We sat outside our doctor’s exam room. By the time we got there, they were only a couple of numbers away from our number, so we just stayed there to wait.

When it was our turn, Teresa, Brendan, and I went into the exam room. The doctor sat at a table with about 4 students who were watching and helping. There were a few other families in the room at the same time, and we waited on a bench in the room until it was our turn to come to the table. Once we were called up, the doctor examined him and talked with Teresa. She translated here and there and I gave my input too. The doctor was very kind. It turns out we fed Brendan too much food and too much variety…he is used to eating the same small meals every day and this was just a jolt to his system. We got prescriptions for meds for his fever and tummy. The doc was delighted that we were adopting him and was just so patient and kind with us.

We left the exam room and went over to pay the bill and then to the pharmacy area to have the prescriptions filled. It was very quick. The total bill was less than $25 I think (meds and exam). We walked back to the hotel and Teresa explained how to administer the meds.

Since then, Brendan seems to be feeling a lot better. He is full of smiles and laughter when we are alone. He is distrustful of crowds, and I don’t blame him. (Note to those coming to see us at the airport…you will probably not see him smile that night. Just give him time.) His fever has not returned, and we’ve severely limited his food amounts. He wasn’t too happy with us when we said no to some foods at dinner, but at the same time I think we built a huge amount of trust with him by getting him medical care when he needed it. Naptime today was the first time he did not cry himself to sleep. And his tears were silent ones before…the child does not make a lot of noise. He is very soft spoken. You need to lean in to listen to his words. Tonight we heard him say “hello” for the first time!

Brendan is painfully shy, as I’ve said before. He did not use a lot of words at the orphanage, so I’m curious at how his English will develop. It will definitely take some time. It will be very interesting to see, in about 4 months or so, if he is still a painfully shy little boy.

We took him to a park this afternoon, about a 10-minute walk through the busy streets of Zhengzhou. We could see it from our hotel room, and finally today we decided to venture out and get to it. When we first approached the park, Brendan just stood there and looked around. It made us wonder if he had ever been to a park before. We showed him how to do a couple of things, and pretty soon he was laughing and running around. It definitely was not as nice of a park as we have in the states, but it was pretty fun. It was right next to this track we see people running in throughout the day, doing tai chi, playing soccer, etc.

Tomorrow should be pretty low key. We will be getting the rest of our paperwork in hand. (Teresa will go get it and bring it to us.) We’ll be packing our bags in the evening, because on Friday we need to be at the airport by 10 am or so to fly to Guangzhou.

Tuesday in Zhengzhou

Tuesday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then met Teresa for our appointment at Civil Affairs to finalize our paperwork. It was much less chaotic there that day, though we could tell Brendan was not happy to be back there. We did get to see the family adopting Brendan’s friend from the orphanage again that day. We hope to see them in Guangzhou too. The official didn’t really interview us as much as we expected, and overall the meet was very easy. We got our forms from them and left.

Afterwards we went to the notary office to sign some paperwork. The notary was very kind, and we got to take a photo of our family with her. She is like a Supreme Court Justice in the US. Our guide will pick up our remaining paperwork on Thursday and bring it to us.

When we were done with the meetings, we asked our guide to go with us to a grocery store to get some things we needed. She helped us get bottled water, pop, and food for Brendan to eat for lunches in the hotel room. We were SO thankful and felt a lot better about getting through the rest of the week. The grocery store was right near McDonald’s, so we stopped in and picked up some lunch for us to go. It was nice to have something similar to home, even though it was not exactly the same. (The western food in the hotel is not made the way we would make those same dishes in the states as well.)

We got back to the hotel and just had a much better outlook about our week. We got along much more with Teresa, we had food and water, and we knew we only had a few days left there.

After Brendan’s nap he seemed a little off. We did play in the room and also took a little walk outside and played in the hotel lobby. After dinner, we realized he was running a low fever, and he had been having diarrhea. We have him some Tylenol and a bath, and his fever broke not long after he went to sleep. We decided to call our guide in the morning and get him to a doctor. If he has a fever for our embassy medical exam on Saturday, they will not allow him to travel until he is better, which would mean a delay in our embassy appointment as well. We are praying he gets better soon.

Gotcha Day!

This was a chaotic day, nothing like my expectations, which I tried not to have in the first place.

We had to be down in the hotel lobby in Beijing at 5 am to go to the airport. We were given a bagged breakfast since we had to leave before breakfast opened. I ate a little. Some of it I couldn’t eat (fruit with skin I couldn’t peel) and some I didn’t like (hard boiled egg). I just ate a couple of small muffins; my stomach was in knots about the day ahead.

Our check–in at the airport went smoothly. We knew our bags were overweight for a China domestic flight (44 lbs per person), but we didn’t think it was by much. Sherry, our guide, talked the staff into letting us go through with no charge. We also got through security without hassle. We got to our gate about 45 minutes early. We even saw travel friends get through with a miracle…they had 4 people traveling with about 10 bags and had thought the rule was 44 lbs per bag. Ugh. The Lord parted the waters and caused the belt at check in to be broken, lots of chaos, and ultimately they got through what they thought would be $300 of fines with no fines at all!

Our flight was easy…we think we might have been seated in business class. Lots of leg room. About an hour flight. When we got off the plane, we got our bags and met our guide. She asked if we needed to use the bathroom before we left. I said no. BIG MISTAKE. (I had to but wanted to get to the hotel first.)

When we got in the van, we discovered from Teresa, our local guide, that we were not going to the hotel but straight to meet our son. (Exactly what happened to us in Ethiopia; this only happens about 1% of the time. It happened to us both adoptions.) Our guide in Beijing, Sherry, told us we were most likely going to the hotel to unpack first. So we had no toys for him in our carry on. No snacks. No gifts ready for the orphanage staff. And she said we’d only be there about an hour.

We also discovered pretty quickly in the van that Teresa did not speak English as well as we were used to with Sherry. We had to explain our questions a number of times. This proved to get worse with time.

We got to the Civil Affairs building, and we were ushered into this lobby area. (I tried to go to the bathroom, but the Western toilet was disgustingly dirty—imagine the worst you’ve seen and triple it—and the squatty potties had to toilet paper. We had been carrying around tp but did not bring it with us in our carry ons.) There were only a couple of people there at the moment, but we were told 17 families were coming that morning to get their kids. Little did we know…

Brendan was not there yet, so our guide went into a room to start figuring out paperwork. A few minutes later, some nannies walked in with Brendan and another little boy, both who looked TERRIFIED. We approached him and started to talk, and the nannies were trying to introduce us, but he would have none of it. He just closed off emotionally. We could not get anyone to take many photos or videos. And then Brendan wet his pants all over the floor. Poor kid. While the staff cleaned him up and got him new pants (no underwear, as we discovered later), other staff pulled me aside and sat me down to do some paperwork. By this time we could see other families getting their kids, lots of crying (parents and kids), and other people taking nice video and photos for those families. It was very loud in the room, and Teresa was trying to translate the form for me to fill out and having difficulty. She would ask questions and get yelled at. We would sign forms, and she would get yelled at about how we did it wrong. (I should say the yelling was directed at her, but we have no idea what they were saying.) Screaming babies. Lots of people speaking different languages. And I felt robbed of my gotcha day because I couldn’t even find Pete and Brendan at points. Every time I would get up to try to sit with them and see our son, I was pulled into more paperwork. And then I was told we needed to make our orphanage donation then. So I had to sit and count large stacks of RMB in the middle of the crowd. And then they recounted it. About $5000 worth.

By this point we were a bit upset. We had tried numerous times to ask questions of the nannies that we had about Brendan. We kept getting brushed aside. Thankfully, Pete had gone out to the van earlier and dug a couple of toys out of the suitcase. He literally just came to us with the clothes on his back. Not even anything from the care package we sent him.

The other little boy that Brendan came with turned out to be going home with a family from Kansas. We got to sit down with his mom and exchange information, since we were told Hudson (the boy’s new name) and Brendan were friends. (Sure enough, later as I looked through Brendan’s photos I saw Hudson in many of them.) His mom was really nice. This was not her first China adoption, and she had used our agency in the past. I’m looking forward to staying in touch with her. I hope we see her at the embassy meetings.

At some point in all of this we were able to take photos with the nannies and Brendan and us outside the building. Pete tried to explain that we wanted to have on video the nannies giving Brendan some well-wishes and then have Teresa translate. Never happened. They just didn’t understand us. We did get to ask our questions and felt we got satisfactory answers.

Teresa told us it was time to go, so we all piled in the van. Then we all had to get out, because she said we had to take the family photo for the documentation. (I actually had mentioned this to her earlier because we knew this was taken on that day, and she told me we didn’t do that until the next day.)

By the time we were really ready to go, it was lunchtime. We had been at the CA building for 2 hours. The driver and guide offered to take us to a local restaurant instead of the hotel, so we agreed. Once we were seated, we asked the guide for help with ordering, since in Beijing all the ordering was done for us ahead of time. It took about 30 minutes to discuss back and forth with the guide what we would be willing to order. I asked for a bottle of water, and it took forever to explain what that was. They brought me mineral water, which I did not want. We finally got them to bring a bottle of Sprite. By this point I was in tears. The staff ended up bringing me a bowl of special soup used for people with coughs, because they thought I was sick. It tasted like medicine. Nasty. It turns out we ordered too much, and most of it I didn’t like. Too spicy. Pete ate some, but when Teresa started laughing at him at how he was using chopsticks, he got mad at her. At least Brendan ate a meal he was used to. One thing Sherry told us in Beijing was not to let him eat too much at meals so he wouldn’t get a stomachache. Teresa and the wait staff kept bringing him more and more food. We finally put a stop to it, and they didn’t really understand why we were denying him more food. I ended up just eating rice. We paid the bill (and I noticed we ended up paying for the driver’s and Teresa’s meals too).

At this point we knew we needed to call in the big guns. We knew we couldn’t survive for the rest of the week like this with no one who could understand us. We decided to call the national guide when we got back to the hotel. Teresa gave us our room keys, and we asked for help with locating a supermarket for us to buy water. She vaguely gave us directions and would not offer more help than that. “It’s just down the block,” she said.

We got up to our hotel room and we noticed there was only one large bed. We asked about a bed for Brendan, and they finally brought us up a large crib. We called Linekar, the national guide, immediately. He got us switched to a different room with two beds. Pete told him about the difficult time we were having with our guide, and he said our province is a very hard one because not many people speak English well. He said there was a 5 star hotel in town, but it was twice as much money. (We are in a 4 star hotel.) The nicer hotel had more staff who spoke better English. We decided to stay put, since Brendan was already moved around so much today, and we didn’t know if we could afford the new hotel. He offered to get us a new guide, but it would take a couple of days. He told us to call him with any more issues we were having. It was so nice to finally have someone understand our needs.

In the midst of all of this, we laid Brendan down for a nap, which we found out he takes every afternoon. He was still so, so scared. He laid down and tears began to roll down him face. He made no noises, just cried silently. We sat with him and snuggled and prayed with him for a while. Finally, he fell asleep and took a decent nap. We tried to sleep, but we could not. We were actually a bit worried about Brendan…we wondered if there was some hearing loss or mental delays due to how painfully shy he is. (We knew from the referral paperwork that he was shy, but this was Just. Painfully. Shy.) And it didn’t help that he wouldn’t make eye contact or speak.

I went out in search of the grocery store. I got some directions from the bellboy, but I walked around for a while without finding what I was looking for. I came back to the hotel and asked for more help. The bellboy walked me partway there, and then pointed out exactly where I needed to go. What made it harder was there was construction in between me and the store, and I had to walk around it (on the street, mostly, with China traffic). I finally found the store and went in. I found the water, but it was all expensive mineral water, not the cheap spring water we had been drinking the last few days. I walked back to the hotel, and we called Linekar again. He called Teresa and had her call the hotel to bring us up a bunch of water to our room. They brought us two more individual sized bottles.

By this time Brendan was awake, so we took him down to dinner at the hotel restaurant. We looked at the regular menu, and then they brought us the room service menu. We ordered club sandwiches for us, and they came with French fries. After we ordered, I realized we couldn’t eat the lettuce or tomatoes in the sandwich. We nibbled at the bread, but the meat tasted funny, and there was a layer of egg instead of cheese. The fries were pretty good, though.

After we were all done eating we went back to the room and gave Brendan a bath. He smelled pretty horrible all day, but we wanted to give him some time in his orphanage clothes since the smell was more familiar to him. The bath went well. Then Pete started playing with him, and he really seemed to open up. They were laughing a lot, playing with toys, and being silly together.

By bedtime we were feeling a bit better about the day.

Beijing day 2

On Sunday morning in Beijing we were able to go to an international church for worship in the morning. It was amazing—definitely a highlight of the trip. We had to show our foreign IDs to get in the door. The best part was singing the doxology with Christians in China, knowing we would sing it again with our church back home at the airport.

Next we visited a jade factory, learned about jade, and did some shopping.

After lunch, we went to the Great Wall. Amazing. No words. I didn’t climb much because it was so steep and pretty warm outside, but Pete went up a few towers. Pete put photos on facebook.

We drove back to Beijing and had dinner, and then we went to a Chinese acrobat show. We were all very tired and ready to go back to our rooms and pack, but it was still worth seeing. They would give our local Gamma Phi Circus a run for their money.

Back at the hotel, we repacked and got ready for the morning, when we would go to meet our son!

day 1 sightseeing in Beijing

Yesterday was a FULL day of sightseeing and a lot of fun.

We met our travel group families at breakfast and in the lobby. (ET families, we've decided we are traveling with some twin families…like the Mitchells, the Schmidts, and the Moles families.) J

We got on the bus (our tour bus) and first went to Tiananman Square. LOL—we were not allowed to discuss politics or take pictures of anyone in uniform. There were lots of people everywhere we went. I think there were a couple hundred thousand people in the square. We took some photos and then walked over to the Forbidden City. We walked all the way through, from front to back, through each gate. This was were the emperor’s family lived. No one goes in, no one comes out. (hehe--I was singing the Oompa Loompa song in the shower this morning.) The buildings were magnificent, and we got to see one of the golden thrones. My absolute favorite part was the Imperial Garden. I loved the smaller buildings surrounding it and all the interesting plants and rock structures. By the time we got back to the bus, we had been walking for 2.5 hours!

Then we went to lunch, our first taste of authentic Chinese cuisine. So good! This was probably my favorite meal so far. We ate at a table for 10 with the food on a large spinner in the middle. You just spin the glass when you want a dish moved closer to you. My favorite parts were the leeks and the cucumbers.

We got to visit a pearl factory store and learn about how pearls are found and the difference between ocean and freshwater pearls. Pink freshwater pearls come from China—no where else. We saw some very beautiful jewelry and bought a little.

Next we went to Summer Palace, but it had rained while we were in the pearl shop and so the photos were all hazy. There is a beautiful bridge and a man-made lake that we saw. Across the lake was the palace itself, where the emperor rested.

Then we went to a Silk Factory and saw how silk blankets were made. We even got to try to stretch the silk out for a blanket. We oogled over all the pretty fabrics and the adorable baby clothes.

We drove by the Olympic Village and took some photos of the Bird’s Nest and surrounding buildings. It brought back a lot of memories of the Seoul Olympics for me. The buildings are not really being used now but are owned by the government.

We went to a Tea House and participated in a tea ceremony. We got to try 5 kinds of tea. My favorites were the jasmine and fruit teas. The ceremony was very entertaining…we laughed a lot! Then we got to purchase some gifts.

Finally, we went to a Chinese duck dinner. I didn’t like the food as well, and by this point I was ready to collapse. It was all I could do to stay upright in the chair from jet lag. I liked the taste of duck…it reminded me a lot of turkey. I liked the little pieces I took off the plate myself, but I didn’t like it when they offered it wrapped in an injera/crepe-like thing with vegetables. I wasn’t feeling the best anyway by this point, so I was grateful when we left.

When we got back to the hotel, I put on pjs and was asleep about 5 seconds after hitting the pillow. J

Aidan and Iona, we love you and miss you a ton. We can’t wait to skype with you in the next couple of days so you can meet Brendan. We meet him tomorrow! Please give each other lots of hugs for us and have fun with your friends. We love you!!

at the airport

In about 23 hours, we will be in China. My stomach is in the usual knots from flying, even though I've done this so many times. I miss my kids, all three of them. Lots of mixed emotions. I'm excited to get going!

Thank you all for your prayers and notes of encouragement. Please keep praying for us, all the way there and back! We are excited to see what God wants to show us in China.

Here is the standard suitcase shot. Praying we see them all in China when we get off the plane!

leaving this week!

We are leaving for China this week! We'll take the kids to our friends' house on Wednesday afternoon and go to the airport Thursday morning. The kids are having a ton of fun with packing.

We're down to the last few things that can't be packed until the last minute. I'll finish laundry tomorrowish and try to clean a little.

In one week we will meet our new son. In Iona's words: "Brendan's coming. I'm freaking out about it!"

His bed is made. We bought him a pillow tonight. His bag is packed, filled with new clothes and new toys for the trip.

We're coming!