Thanksgiving 2008

This Thanksgiving I find myself reflecting on the miracles of this year. The first was when God brought Daniel into our lives. I don’t mean when we adopted him, but last October when we first saw his face.For 10 months he grew in our hearts as we prepared for Daniel. Then finally, after a series of financial miracles Daniel is home with us and part of our family. If you have been following our journey, you know the story. If not, go back to our first posts and read an amazing story. God walked us through every step.

(pics above left and right, Daniel and Cosette enjoying Thanksgiving lunch at school last week)

I haven’t posted in a while. Life has been busy, as it is for everyone this time of year. Daniel has been in school for over a month and is doing well. I recently learned that his teacher was allowing him to spend much of the day on the computer playing “educational” games. When I learned what was going on I objected of course. He is in school for the “immersion experience”, not to play games. I’m sure there was value in the games, but he could as easily do that at my office with me each day. He needs to hear his teacher, listen to the lesson, and hear his classmates speak; watch, listen and learn! His teacher is now requiring him to participate most of the day, thank you! Wouldn’t you know, just in the past two weeks Daniel’s English has also exploded. He is using more English then Mandarin at this point. Probably out of necessity, but still it’s a great relief to us to know he’s learning. Recently when I was leaving Daniel at school he said “see you tomorrow mommy” – all in perfectly understandable English. It wasn’t exactly what he meant but a great break through none the less. After kissing him goodbye that day, for some reason I cried while I watched him walk hand in hand with Cosette into the school building.

Cosette is her normal sweet self. She is growing in so many ways. I’m enjoying this phase of her childhood. I love being able to have more mature conversations with her. Watching her become a big sister has been fun too. She really tries to guide and protect Daniel. Last week I was having lunch at school with her. One of her classmates asked her why Daniel has one big ear. Her response was very mature. She said “he had a surgery when he was a baby”. That’s all she said. After years of being questioned by classmates about her own life, adoption, being Chinese, having white parents, etc. she has learned that you don’t have to give all the information. She answered respectfully and kindly but protected Daniel’s privacy.

Onyx, our new kitty, is doing well and growing and growing. She is a snuggler, which I’ve enjoyed. After the kids are asleep I often lay down on the couch to relax for a few minutes. Onyx will climb up onto my chest and purr; it puts us both to sleep.

John is doing well. His territory was recently expanded significantly, so in the same amount of time (40 hrs in the week) he is now expected to cover almost twice the territory!

We are looking forward to Christmas. It will be Daniel’s first. It’s hard to even begin to explain what he is about to experience. Of course we want him to know that Christmas is primarily about Jesus. Try to explain that concept in gesture and limited language!

Thanks for your prayers. We continue to have struggles, expected ones and unexpected. We need God to give us what all parents need; wisdom, discernment and patience. Daniel needs what most 6 year old boys need; compassion, discipline and self control to mention a few.

Finally, we are thankful for YOU. God has blessed us with such a wonderful community of friends and family. You have been generous to us in so many ways this year. Jean Baptiste Massieu said ““Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” Our hearts are full with gratitude for you.

Blessings ~ Tonya (for J, C & D)