Annual Detroit FD ~ Engine 21 Picnic

What a great weekend! The kids had an awesome time at the Kay residence last Saturday, in honor of the Annual Detroit FD - Engine 21 Picnic. Kay parties are always favorite events. This year in particular, there were a lot of children in attendance, including my kids. It was very heartwarming to capture all of the Dads and their kids playing Waterball together - the day before Father's Day.

In the video, T.J. is playing Waterball with his Godfather, Nate Darling (AKA: Uncle "Nutz"), who came up from Indianapolis FD. My husband Scott (AKA: Goose) is manning the airhorn in the pick-up truck (blue striped shirt). In attendance were firefighters from Detroit, Indi, Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Pittsfield Twp., Superior Twp. and Saline fire departments, to name a few.

This was my first video slideshow with special effects and music. Now that I have learned the ropes, I am planning Jili's Adoption video. Enjoy the video.
Jill :)

Happy Father's Day!!!!

Happy Father's Day to Dad, Papa Harvey, Papa Koeppe, Uncle (Godfather) Sean, and Uncle (Godfather) Nutz!!!!
Love,
Jili and T.J

Our Dad, AKA: "Goose", at a Training Burn


Dad and Jili first meet at Detroit Metro Airport


Airport Greeting


First family Photo


Jili and Dad at the Pool


Daddy-T.J. catnap


Santa "Harv"


Papa and Grandma Harvey


Papa Koeppe


Uncle Nutz's Wedding 2007


DFD Picnic 2010 ~ Team Uncle Nutz and T.J.K.


Uncle Sean and Jili


Jili and her Godparents, Sean and Lori


Grandpa Harv and Uncle Nutz


Papa H. and the kids


The Koeppes and Gleasons


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO ALL THE DADS OUT THERE!!

Party Today!

We are off to the BRB (Big Red Barn) for the Annual Detroit Fire Engine 21 Reunion! Waterball, food, fun, goats, tractors and a hillybilly hayride - great family fun. Post pictures later. Let's hope it's a sunny day!
Jill :)

She's Not Innocent Here

She's not hiding behind her big brother, she's using him as a human shield to water-soak "innocent" (not sure this word implies here) firefighters.
~Memorial Day 2011 at the BRB

Jili's Kindergarten Registration

In May, we registered Jili for Kindergarten. I was so nervous when I signed Jili up for Kindergarten Registration. A part of me was worried that I would not be able to advocate the importance of her special circumstances: the skull issue, the wig factor, the heart medication, her adoption situation and trust issues, and let alone being an English Language learner. On the other hand, I was wracked with worry that "I" was going to worry the schools, and that they would overact and flag her, and limit her. Jili is very smart and wonderful to be around, and I just wanted to be fair to her.
I knew that Jili was probably a good candidate for Developmental Kindergarten or Young 5's, due to her age alone. Being a teacher myself, I knew that she would also benefit from a young kindergarten program due to: the adoption transition, the language aquisition from learning the English language; and from coming from an orphanage in general. In spite of these barriers, she is very academically smart, very observant and follows directions well.
Our Young Five's Program is in a different school. I was trying to figure out how my parents (who watch my children while I'm at work) would pick up Jili and T.J. at the same time, from two different schools. I was also worried about putting her on a bus, and being in an unfamiliar environment, without her big brother T.J.
I can thank my son T.J.'s teacher, Mrs. Chestney for rectifying the situation. Mrs. Chestney has been with us throughout the process of getting Jili home, and throughout her heart surgery. She is aware of her skull issue and her heart issue, and Jili knows and trusts Mrs. Chestney - not to mention, she is a great teacher.
Mrs. Chestney was at Jili's Kindergarten assessment on June 6th. Jili went with her willingly, and Mrs. Chestney stayed with her at the first station until Jili was comfortable testing with the other adults. We were afraid that Jili would clam up around strangers, as she had done in the past, but she did great. Mrs. Chestney also made arrangements for Jili to go to kindergarten this year in her classroom, in the same school as her brother T.J. We are prepared that Jili may be in her room again next year, but we are going to cross that bridge next year, and let Jili determine her own path.
We are so excited and feel so blessed to have that weight of worry off of our shoulders! Thanks Mrs. Chestney!

Humane Society Birthday Donations ~ Thanks!!

For T.J.'s Birthday, we asked for donations to the Lenawee County Humane Society, in lieu of birthday gifts. T.J. collected $120 in Birthday donations. The kids were so excited to take all of the money to the Humane Society. Our Humane Society is a no-kill shelter and it is in danger of closing, so it felt nice to help out in some small way.
There was a cute black kitten there named Boo, that I wanted so badly to take home with us. Jili is trying to understand why the "puppies and kitties" don't have homes, and why the little kitty named "Boo" was left in a picnic basket with his sibling, "Yogi". Hopefully, someday she will have the fortitude to understand why she was abandoned in China, and use that compassion to help other orphans, human or furry.
Thanks to everyone who donated to the Lenawee County Humane Society. Every little bit counts, and it gave my children a wonderful lesson on giving and making a difference in their community!
Sincerely,
Jill :)

First Bullying Incident

We had our first bullying incident at the park in late May. Jili's hat came off, exposing her scarred, partially bald head. A boy, probably in fourth grade, starting yelling, "Oh my God, her head scares me! Get away from her!!" He proceeded to encourage other older children to run from her. Of course, I was right there, and I snapped at him immediately and retorted: "You should know better. She's just a little girl." He kept lingering in the area, and I watched him. My glare apparently scared him so much he started stomping his feet, saying, "You're scaring me lady! Why are you looking at me like that?" I said, "I've got my eye on you, kid, because you were being mean to my little girl. Where are your parents?"
Then, he ran to his mom and tattled on himself. I walked up with Jili at my side, and explained the comments that he had said to her. His mother told him that his actions were inappropriate, and said, "I talked to you about not doing that. How would you feel if somebody teased you?" I thanked her for her talking to her son, and we walked off.
I knew that day would come. I just did not know how I would respond. I know that I will not always be there to protect my daughter, but I hope that I will possess the strength to teach her to be proud of who she is and to be resilient against unkindness or ignorance. Despite the fact that Jili was unaware that she was being teased, Jili and I had a conversation about bullies. I told her to never cry if someone says something mean to her. To walk away. To say, "Whatever, I don't listen to mean kids." Of course, we role played, with me being the bully. I said, "I don't like like your shirt...hat...hair." Jili said back to me, "I don't care what you think YOU STUPID KID!" Wow, maybe she can take care of herself after all.
I am forever looking for ways to help my children and my students learn about adversity, compassion and empathy. I am on a path to discovering how I can do more, as I write, as I parent, and especially as I teach. I do have an idea for my book to bring everything into the forefront, but only pray that God can enlighten my perception and bring it all into focus for me.
I am considering setting a non-profit organization in the future, with a similar interest. It is a common interest in my life that keep resurfacing, and am I trying to decide which path to take. If there is anyone out there that has experience with setting up a non-profit organization, please contact me privately at: jillkoeppe@yahoo.com

Jill :)
Fortitude: Strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage - Merriam Webster's Dictionary

Jili Updates and Koeppe Happenings

I have been so AWOL on blogging lately that I am not sure if anyone if checks my blog anymore, but I will do it anyways ~ especially for you family and friends that lurk and don't comment. :)
Over the last three months, things have really started to settle down in our household. My work schedule in Ypsilanti was longer than when I worked in Ann Arbor, and my commute a little longer too (45 minutes). During this harsh winter, many commutes to work exceeded 90 minutes. I miss my Ann Arbor coworkers so much!!! The Ypsilanti people are really great too, and have really made me feel welcome.
T.J. also did soccer and swimming this spring, and Jili is eager to do the same.

Scott had an emergency gall bladder removal in early April. He left three hours before the end of his 24 hour shift at the fire department, and drove himself to the Emergency room. He never takes sick time, so everyone knew something was serious!! Nine hours later, he had it removed and he was home for four weeks, much to his dismay. However, the unwanted time off turned out to be a blessing, as it proved to be a much-needed Father-Daughter bonding time.
When Jili first came home from China in February of 2010, she was really attached to me, and did not understand that she had two parents; and didn't have to choose between us. Nonetheless, Scott was really patient with her, and allowed her the space and trust that she needed to understand that he was not going to take her away from her mom. Slowly, over months, she got closer to her Dad, but the time home with him for a month was a really much-needed father-daughter time. Now, when he is gone, she says, "Where's Dad? He's really taking a long time." She is trying to understand the firefighter tour of duty shifts. Now, she begs for shoulder rides, rocks with him in the rocking chair, and plays with him more than ever. She even lets Dad put her to bed - without delay - when I am out. It was really a blessing in disguise.

This spring, I was able to take Jili to see Dora the Explorer (Treasure Island-Pirate Adventure) on stage at The Croswell Opera house in Adrian, MI. She loved it. We were actually scheduled to go the day that my husband had his gall bladder removed. However, they were kind enough to give me tickets to another show, due to the circumstances. We ended up going to see it twice. After the second show, Jili was able to go up on stage with Dora and the other cast members and have her pictures taken. A young cast member was dressed as Issa, and invited her to sit next to him. She liked that.

Memorial Day Weekend was fun. We went to the parade in town and Jili wore her new Hello Kitty flag shirt. Later, we planted our garden in the very hot, hot sun. We also made our tadpole pond. Some of the them already have four legs now. Every year, we do our little frog pond, about 36 inches in diameter. As the tadpoles metamorphis into frogs, they just hop down to our creek. We also did butterflies this spring. We were contemplating raising praying mantises, but after a few surprise youtube videos, we discovered that they might grow up and devour our hummingbirds; plus T.J. was afraid one might escape in the house and eat his hamster, Sun Sun, or eat the crickets in his bug garden. No praying mantises.
We did lose another hamster, Felix, this winter/spring. My kids are really accepting the cycle of life. Sunny is our LAST hamster, and she is blind in one eye, so the kids give her extra pampering and feed her fresh nuts, fruits, and veggies by hand. Jili often asks, "Mom, why our animals don't live a long time?" I try to explain that animals don't live as long before they go to Heaven, so we need to treat them special every day, and my kids do.
That's my motto: Live and appreciate each day to the fullest, especially with those that you love!
Jill

Writing My Book!!!

What a busy year it has been! I got my first, long-awaited, teaching job last December. Hence, blogging and finishing my book - that I hoped to finish last August - took a back seat. However, I have come to understand that there are no such thing as coincidences in life, for the ending to my book was yet to unfold.
Today was my last working day of the school year, and I am looking forward to spending my first summer devoted entirely to my family, and concluding my book on The Journey to Jiliang.
One of my aspirations is to advocate for special needs adoptions, or differently-abled children, as I prefer to say. In fact, there are so many would-be adoptive parents that would bring children with special considerations into forever families if they had the financial means that adoption demands.
Writing has become one of my greatest joys, and I can only hope and pray for the ability to pay forward all of the love and support that was shown to my family throughout Jili's adoption process and heart surgery this past year and a half. I promise to write something amazing and heartfelt.

Tomorrow, I will post some updates and new photos. Until then, blessings to you all.
Jill :)