June 26, 2004
Today was post-operative day # 5. We had been warned it would be Lili's worst day of recovery. She did exhibit a bit more fussiness than normal, but overall it was just a wonderful day. We took her to a wedding and Lili had a ton of fun. She even danced in the church pew. Michael watched his brothers while we were at the wedding. He is growing up into a fine young man. Nicholas and Christopher behaved well for him. Last night we went to the YMCA and I took a picture of the kids on their climbing wall. We are headed to our home in Michigan for a week next Friday. I hope the bugs up there are not too bad. When we were in China, I never saw any bugs. Maybe it was the season, but we did not see a single skitter or fly! I love this country, but do long to go back to China again and bring home one more daughter. Financially it will be a strain, but we have faith if it is meant to be, then we will find a way. It is getting late, and Church comes early in the morning. I don't want to be late, we have a few answered prayers to express our thanksgiving for tomorrow. Lili is fine, the surgery seems to be a huge success. -Scott
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June 23, 2004
Lili is doing VERY well. If I did not know that she had surgery on Monday, I would sure not guess it by looking at her. We all went to the YMCA again tonight and she enjoyed our 45 minute walk around the walking track from her backpack perched high on my back! She folded her legs up like a jockey and beat on my (very small) bald spot. Someone over the weekend thought I was her grandpa, so I am a bit more motivated than usual to get my young look back again. The boys took very good care of Lili today as we were all in the office. Her breathing still seems stuffy to me, but we were told it would take a while for her to learn to breath through her nose. I have a few pictures below of her in the hospital, and one at the YMCA exploring the tube under the climbing wall. The last one was taken Saturday June 19th at the St. Mary of the Woods Church Festival at Indian Lake. She wanted to ride the train with Nicholas. All of these picture were taken with my SONY Clie' UX-50 PDA and they are shown here uncompressed. -Scott
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June 22, 2004
Lili is doing fine. Monday she had her tonsils and adenoids taken out. She came home Tuesday afternoon to her brothers "spoiling arms". Her throat is starting to get a bit sore, but she seems just fine. Her brothers are taking turns holding her on their laps in the Lazy-boy chair and she is constantly being asked if she is A-OK. Popsicle, ice cream and yogurt seem to be the treats she likes best now.We knew yesterday was going to be a tough day for all of us, so we started it out by visiting Gracie's grave on the way to Cincinnati. Before we arrived, we actually saw a rainbow on the way there. Not a big full rainbow, and not for very long. Just the sort to say I am here and Lili will be OK. We both saw it, and Tracy and I took it as a sign that Lili would be ok. Once we arrived a Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, we were amazed at how efficient, courteous, and professional they were. Her surgery only took 15-20 minutes, and Lili took about 45 minutes to totally wake up from the anesthesia . All the nurses were wonderful, but the one who helped us wake up Lili (Lisa) was particularly wonderful. It was well worth driving 110 miles.
The next few days will be a test of our sleeping patterns and Lili's, as we expect the incision to cause her a bit of pain. I am not worried though, because she has three big brothers looking after her every need. I plan to assist a bit too. Tracy of course will do most of the work, and we men will take all the credit. Thank you for giving her your many thoughts and prayers. -Scott
June 19, 2004
We joined the local YMCA yesterday and took the kids to the pool. Lili has no fear of the water! She and her brothers played and played until Tracy and I got tired. We are going to take the kids to the Festival of the Catholic Church up at Indian Lake (St Mary of the Woods) this evening. There are ususally games and good food there. The kids should have fun, and I will enjoy showing them off. This past week was a rough week with the flooding of our business, and then finding out Lili will need to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out. The weekend has helped lift our spirits and we are planning on spoiling Lili a bunch next week. -ScottJune 15, 2004
What a difference a couple of days make. On Sunday night the 13th, our business flooded again. (That makes it 4 times in 26 months). The city just "fixed" the problem last fall. Well actually they didn't. If you have ever been flooded, you know the mess it leaves behind. Today we found out that Lili will need surgery to have her tonsils and adenoids taken out. We are scheduled for the operation at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati on Monday the 21st of June. We would appreciate your prayers. -ScottJune 12, 2004
We got to go down into the Mammoth Cave this morning. I must say it was not as impressive as I had thought it would be. I enjoy Ohio Caverns in West Liberty, Ohio more. They are 5 miles from our home too! Below are a couple of pictures of the crew down under. We head home tomorrow. -Scott
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June 11, 2004
We drove on from Rough River Dam to the Mammoth Cave National Park. After we explored the park a bit, we met up with Tracy's parents, and all her sisters and their families. We found dinner at the local Cracker Barrel Restaurant. The kids found the rockers to their liking. We are staying at the Hampton Inn in a town called Horse Cave. Yep, Horse Cave . . After dinner, we all took a swim. Lili loves the water, and the boys are all learning to swim. Tomorrow we will be going down in the cave. I hope I can get some good pictures. If I do, you will see some of them.Today was President Reagan's funeral. I had the honor of serving my country while he was President of the United States. Today I chased the radio stations through the hills of Kentucky so I could listen to the wonderful things people who knew him said about him. When they had the Irish tenor sing Amazing Grace, Tracy and I listened to all four verses with a tear in our eye. It was odd for me. After Gracie Jo's loss, that song has had a very special meaning for me. Today, for the first time since her death, I thought of someone else when I heard it sung. Life does indeed go on. It just seems to go bye more quickly than I had anticipated when I was younger. Michael told Nicholas today that President Reagan died from "Old Timer's Disease". I believe President Reagan would have a smile for Michael. The kids keep us young, and are a constant cause for smiles. God Speed President Reagan. -Scott
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June 10, 2004
We decided to take a long weekend and go to Kentucky today. We drove to the Rough RIver Dam State Resort in West Central Kentucky. I think I like this place a bunch. We took a "dotted road" on the map, because in Ohio dots mean scenic. Well, in Kentucky, they mean bike trail. As you may have guessed, the road got smaller and narrower as we got further from the beaten path. We arrived ( a bit later than planned for) and got checked in at the Lodge. I found a local access number for the Earthlink account and we were online to update this page. I took a picture of the kids in the pool. I think you will like it! As you can see, Lili was in good hands as usual and the boys stood their watch. Tomorrow we drive down to Mamoth Cave National Park and will meet up with the "Willenbrink Sister Families" and her parents. It is our annual family trip together. In a couple of weeks we go back up to the cabin. I am sure we will have another adventure to report from that trip. - Scott
June 2, 2004
CRASH, BOOM, LIGHTNING, RAIN . . . then the power went out. Well, that means the baby monitor is out, so I used this as an excuse to get Lili into our room to sleep. Tracy gave me that stern look, but Lili flashed a smile and her cute eyes and spent last night with us. I know, she is a bit spoiled, but so are the boys, and they are turning out great, right? We have had some pretty nasty weather around here the past few days, and it means more work for me fixing computers that have been hit my lightning. Can you say second baby from China adoption funds? Tomorrow we take Lili to Nicholas's talent show at his school. I am so very proud of all our children. A big thanks to Angie (Nicholas's Godmother), for getting him started on the piano lessons.Yesterday I made our hotel reservations for our trip in July to the 2004 Celebration of Children Reunion (FTIA picnic). I look forward to that weekend more than our vacation to the cabin. If any of you are thinking of adopting a foreign baby, I very highly recommend Families Thru International Adoption FTIA. We will be staying at the AmeriSuites if any other FTIA families are interested. -Scott
May 31, 2004 Memorial Day
Today we visited Gracie Jo's grave site with the boys and Lili. As I was explaining the many graveside flags, and the different Wars that so many brave men and women gave their lives in to the boys, something happened. As Tracy and I were talking to the boys, Lili climbed up onto Gracie's headstone and kissed her picture. I suppose it was just the girls way of letting me know my love for Lili is natural and acceptable. One of the things I have often struggled with is that I no longer think of Gracie every hour of every day. Before Lili's arrival, this was certainly not the case. I mourned Gracie's loss each and every day. Now that Lili is with us, I am a much happier father and I do feel complete again. It is amazing how much these two little girls have changed all our lives. As with Gracie, the boys are so very good with Lili. They "stand their watches" with pride, and great care when Tracy and I ask them to help with her. I share this with you so that if any one of you has lost a child, you will struggle forward and not let the pain hold you back. I am a better man for having shared Gracie's life, if only for eighteen months. It was she who opened up my heart so that Lili could be a part of all of lives. It is her who taught me to be a father of a daughter. A job I hope to do yet another time as we seek an opportunity to visit Lili's homeland, and bring her home a sister in the fall of 2005. Memorial Day has always been special to our country, but this year is hit a particularly special cord with me.The boys are in Scouts and all participated in various actives over the weekend. I am so proud of them. They are all growing up just as I have hoped. Whether parking cars, or marching in parades, they truly did their best. They also appreciate how lucky we are to live in this country. Lili learns so much from them. Being 42 and having a 21 month old daughter, I no longer worry about who will take care of Lili when I am too old. The boys will be their for her, this I am sure of. She makes us all laugh too hard sometimes. I will try to keep you all posted over the next few weeks. We have several family trips planned. -Scott
May 30, 2004
Yesterday we drove down to Columbus and visited the Asian Festival. The highlight of the day was when we got to meet Astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao from NASA. He is not just any Astronaut, he is an Asian American, and has been to space on the Shuttle as a mission specialist three times. Dr. Chiao is assigned as Commander and NASA Science Officer of Expedition-10, scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in October 2004. For an interesting article he wrote about getting ready for a spacewalk, click here. Something that impressed me most about this exceptional man was his patience, and genuine love of the children. I was so excited about getting his picture, I forgot to turn Lili around in her stroller !! (this is her webpage after all) When Leroy asked Nicholas what he wanted to be when he grew up, I expected the usual Astonaut, Fireman or Policeman. His answer? "I want to be a dad". I had to wipe the tear from my cheek . . .
We also hooked up with the Ross and Abas families, two of our travel goup families from our October 2003 trip to China. From left to right, the toddlers are Lili, Sophie and Emily is standing. Nicholas decided to show off a little bit. When the boys misbehave I make them do pushups. As you can see, Nicholas has the one-handed variety down pat! (He is actually doing a cartwheel)
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Christopher is trying to figure out what holds the boats in place . (fishing line tied to shore)
At the end of the day, the kids were a bit tired out and ready for the trip home. It was really great how well the kids all got along. We look forward to seeing the rest of our travel group in July. -Scott
May 26, 2004
I am going to try and update every few days again. Today Lili went to see a Physical Therapist at the Discovery Center. She is fine, just a slight favoring of the left side when she walks. We are working on it with inserts in her shoes and exercise. We are so very lucky that she is in as good of health as she is. I took the pictures below with my Sony Clie UX-55. It is a neat little gadget that does nearly everything. As you can see, Lili has the talking on the phone thing down pat! Last night I took the crew to eat a Pizza Hut. If you think the table is messy, you should see the floor around Lili!! Don't worry I tip them well for the messes we made. Seconds after this picture was snapped, the quick hand of Tracy saved the pop glass from a "Lili-spill". No she does not get pop to drink! -Scott
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May 23, 2004
Lili is getting too cute. We have been so busy that I have not been too good about keeping this site up to date. My sister Debbie said I had better update it or else! She is really a wonderful sister (in law) and I didn't want to learn what the "or else" is so . . . . Hopefully a picture of Debbie's daughter and husband will keep me out of trouble ;-) Lili is doing extraordinarily well. I have some pictures below that really begin to show off her smile. She has an awful lot to be happy for of course, but if I was not so camera shy, you would see her daddy's smile is even bigger than hers and her mommy's.
Lili with her doll Mei Mei (sounds like May May) Lili with her mommy Tracy Dad just said to make "Cute-eyes" I just asked her what she thought of Dad's cooking!
One of the things I have been most pleasantly surprised about, is the way the boys and Lili have gotten along so well. Especially Michael. He is a great big brother. Today, Nicholas decided it was his turn to make Lili experience something new, so he took her a ride on that typical american toy the S l i p p e ry S l i d e. I don't know how I missed getting Chris in these pictures, because he was the "Test pilot" for the big event. So, in fairness to Chris, above is a picture of him at his School's Spring Concert.
Michael makes sure all is clear and safe, and Lili looks to him for the All-Clear! Nicholas steadies the "Victim" She did not cry, but did take a couple of deep breaths!
This was her first experience with non-bath water.Lili and her cousin Leah hunting Easter eggs.
Held by Tracy and Leah's daddy John (Debbie's hubby)
April 9th and still LOTS of packed wet snow!
(The Ranger 6x6 actually drove on top of it)Going home we were treated to this beautiful bridge scene
Maybe this bridge does lead to HeavenMany of you asked how our trip to the cabin went at the beginning of April 2004. It went really well, and we were even treated to warm (40'sF) weather that packed the snow and cold nights (20'sF) that re-froze it. The Ranger could drive nearly anywhere in the woods or on the trails. We never got stuck, but had a close call going back to Kal and Robin's place. Maybe we will get tracks for this little buggy someday. We now have a Social Security Number for Lili and we have applied for her Certificate of Citizenship. You'll have to ask Tracy about the paperwork. I just sign the checks and she does all the work! We are planning to go to the Asian Festival this weekend in Columbus, Ohio. We hope to see some of our travel buddies there as well.
OK, so now you see how this works, when I don't update for awhile, I do over do it a bit. I created a second page that has the September 2003 thru March 2004 journal entries on it. That way this page should load faster for the folks with slower connections. -Scott
