More Christmas Extras

Jili and her side pigtails!!

If you get a chance, read the previous blog. It highlights our Christmas, but here are a few other small stories and happenings.

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On a smaller note, Jili and I bought T.J. an inexpensive little Carol Clock from Tractor Supply Company, and we set it up two nights before Christmas. When we bought it, Jili said, "Oh, I know Cuckoo Clock". I couldn't believe she said that: to my knowledge, she has seen one cuckoo clock months ago, and she made that generalization. I must say, that clock brought us so much joy. Even in the hustle and bustle, it would play a Christmas Carol every hour; and every hour, we would all stop to listen and enjoy it. It was our little ounce of Christmas Spirit in the backdrop of all of the chaos. We loved it so much that we located another one to spread some Christmas cheer to Jili's Godparents' family. It's truly the simplest and unexpected things in life that remind us to slow down and live in the moment.

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At my parents' house, we talked about seeing Santa on Christmas and his affirmation of going to see the children in China. My parents and I asked Jili if she thought Santa went to China. "Yes," she said. "Do you think that Fang Fang and your friends in China saw Santa?" "No," she answered, matter-of-factly, with a stern face. I asked again, and rephrased it, "No," she replied again. I think Jiliang has a true understanding of what priveleges children in a orphanage do not receive. There is no Santa when you are an orphan. This Chinese New Year, I would like to send a care package to Jiliang's orphanage, and if anyone would like to contribute even a dollar, you can do so online. I will try to do it in the next few weeks. I like to send cakes, because I get to receive a picture of the children enjoying them. Anyone who chooses to donate any amount will definitely get a copy of the children enjoying it.

I don't know if you recall when Jili saw photos of her friends in China receiving chocolate coins last April. A woman that I met online, whose daughter was also adopted from Jili's orphanage, traveled to Jili's orphanage on a homeland tour with her daughter. Jili saw her friends eating chocolate coins, and she was so mad. I thought that she would be excited to see photos of her ophanage friends, but instead she wondered where she was when they were eating chocolate. She gave the look, "I didn't get chocolate in China! Where was I when they were indulging in chocolate?" That told me that treats were rare or nonexistent in an orphanage.
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I will add more photos of Jili's Christmas soon. I am in the process of hooking up my new scanner/printer, so I will scan/upload her new Christmas portraits. :) Yes, I went without a working printer for too long. I am so excited about my new scanner. In the meantime, here is a photo of the kids on Christmas Eve on the main page. It was taken on my phone, so the lighting is not too good, but I love the picture. :)
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Blessings!
Jill ;)

Jiliang's First Christmas & Finding the Christmas Spirit

I'm sorry that I didn't post updated pictures as promised. This Christmas was really busy - as always for us all, I suppose; but this Christmas in particular really snuck up on us. I changed jobs in December, and the busyness of learning a new classroom and administrative teacher duties kept me busy in December. The same day that I started my new job, T.J. started swim lessons. Every night, Jili and I watched him swim, and every night that Scott was not working, we all went as a family, and T.J. made us proud. By the time we ate dinner, and went to swim lessons, it was always time for bed when we got home, except for the night when we picked our newly-cut Christmas tree. There were other holiday stressors, and of course, getting Jiliang's hair was an event in itself - a good one though.
Every day, Jiliang asked when Santa was coming and when she could open her gifts. She didn't understand the whole meaning of Christmas and the point of staring at wrapped gifts. "Why can't I open them," and "Why hasn't Santa come yet?" She must have wondered, "Who is this Santa, anyways?" More than anything, I really wanted to give her the Christmas of a lifetime, one that she so deserved.
The Tuesday before Christmas, Jiliang got her hair. :) I made a portrait appointment for the kids for that night, excited about mailing photos out in cards the following day. However, Jili cried about her new hair. It felt funny - not the reaction that I had expected. Therefore, I rescheduled the appointment for Wednesday, already feeling guilty about the Christmas card defeat. I sent Christmas cards out faithfully for years. This year I threw in the towel - just like that. I had so many more things to accomplish, like baking cookies with my kids and visiting Santa. However, I forgot that I had made dentist appointments on Thursday --oops--that threw a wrench into my cookie-baking operation. Luckily, we made to our local Diner to see Santa, and off to our dentist appointments we went. An unexpected trip to WalMart followed to stock up on baking supplies, which delayed my cookie-baking even more.
The following day, I rushed to Sears to pick up our portraits, and back home to get ready for Christmas Mass. Afterwards, we enjoyed Christmas festivities at a family friend's home, and the kids got to see Santa up and close. I even got to eat some handmade Christmas tamales. Yummy!
Santa called the children up one by one, and when he got to Jiliang, she rushed to see Santa Claus without hesitation, as T.J. had given her the scoop on the man in red. Santa said, "This one came all the way from China to see Santa," and Jiliang nodded. Then, she told Santa she wanted a tractor for Christmas. As Santa left, he said, "Ho, ho, ho...I'm off to take presents to the good little children in China,", and Jiliang lit up and said, "Yeah, MY CHINA", and nodded with the Magic of Christmas.
Back home that evening, I enjoyed getting the house ready for Santa. However, for the first time in at least OVER 23 YEARS, I did NOT make a single Christmas cookie. Usually, I do not go to bed without at least 5 different types of cookies made, even if it means staying up through the night. This year, I opted to go to bed, though after much Christmas preparation, it was still past midnight. T.J. bribed my mom out of 5 of her amazing sugar cookies, because he was certain that Santa wouldn't come unless there were cookies, and carrots for Santa's reindeer. "It's okay Mom," T.J. said before church, "You don't have to make cookies now, because I have some of Grandma's sugar cookies." He had all of his bases covered.
I had let both Jili and T.J. both sleep in T.J.'s room on Christmas Eve, since they were so excited about Christmas. It literally took 20 seconds for T.J. to fall asleep, and in no time Jili was out as well. It reminded me of the verse, "while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads." :)
Christmas came and went. The children enjoyed Christmas and delighted in every gift. When Scott got home from his tour of duty, we woke up the kids at 7:30 a.m. T.J. jumped right out of bed, and Jili was slow to wake, as always, clinging to the covers and kicking and protesting for sleep. She sat in the living room - lifeless -and watched T.J. open his stocking and Santa gifts, until T.J. opened his Zhu Zhu pet from Santa. She came alive and checked her own stocking to find a pink Zhu Zhu pet for her too. Forget the big ticket items, the Zhu Zhu pets and tractors took center stage. They tore through our gifts, then we headed to my parents' house for breakfast and gifts, and then to Scott's parents' home for gifts and dinner.
That Christmas night, I sat and told Scott that something was missing, and we were both in agreement that Christmas came and went quick this year, and the whole hustle and bustle had wiped us out. I wanted the whole perfect Christmas for Jiliang's First Christmas, but somewhere it all went awry. The kids seemed content, of course. In essence, we agreed that we didn't have the Christmas Spirit this year. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, and I love the Spirit that it fills me with each year. I looked at all of the unwrapped and wavered that all of the gifts under the tree couldn't make up for surpassing the True of Meaning of Christmas.
What we concluded was this: next year, we are going to celebrate the True Meaning of Christmas, and slow down and cherish those special moments with our family. Every year, I try to honor the Birth of Christ and I do struggle with all of the hyped, materialistic gift-giving every year. Every year I try to find that balance as to how much of that interferes with the real meaning of Christmas. This year, I really felt that I stepped backwards. I am not saying that I don't want to give gifts next year, but I do want to take more time to create lasting memories with my children and celebrate giving in a more meaningful and profound way, and if that means that there are less gifts under the tree and more gifts of the heart, so be it. If it means less running to and fro, that's perfectly fine with me.
Christmas night, T.J. said, "Mom, we didn't make cookies," and he named a couple of Christmas specials that I promised we would watch, and crafts that I promised we would do. I responded, "Well, we can still do that. We'll just make them the day after Christmas. And we did, just not for Santa Claus. As I thought of all of the should-haves and would-haves, I realized something that our Priest said at Mass, which went something like this: Christmas is a special day, but the Spirit of Christmas and the celebration of Christ shouldn't live in our hearts only at Christmastime.
In conclusion, the True Celebration of Christmas came a bit late for us this year for reasons I just can't fathom, but I can say that I spent the last week with my family - especially my children - listening to sweet Christmas music, sipping holiday tea, baking cookies, doing puzzle and games, playing with toys watching spirited Christmas movies and shows, and planning of all of the fun we will have next Christmas. I neglected my blog, my emails, my cellphone, and I apologize for that, but I needed to experience to the First Christmas with my new family of FOUR.

Today, the holiday season of Christmas has ended, and this New Year's Day, I carefully put away each ornament, remembering the importance of each one, and I wrote another annual post-Christmas entry in my son's memory ornament. Each year, when I take down the Christmas ornaments, I write my son a note about Christmas: this year, he was old enough to hear the entries for the first time (when we hung the ornaments), and he was surprised to know that I had written a memory down for his every Christmas. Therefore, when we were wrapping the ornaments back up, he said excitedly, "Mom, don't forget to write a note in my ornament!" Every year, I get to tell him how much I love and appreciate him, and now he reads it the following year. I will do the same for Jiliang too, starting this year.
We learn so much from our children. This year, my son and daughter taught me to take a step back and relive the Christmas Spirit through their eyes. And that is the True Meaning of Christmas: Love. This New Year, Rejoice, and know that it is never too late to find Christmas in your Heart.

"For God So loved the world that He gave Him one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
~John 3:16 (New International Version, ©2010)


Happy Christmas and New Year. May you receive countless blessings and God's Amazing Grace in 2011.

With Love,
Jill and family