Halloween Costumes

When Jili told Scott and I that she wanted to be an elephant for Halloween, I was bummed. I have seen that same elephant costume (as cute as it is) worn three years in a row. Last year was Jili's first Halloween and she was a tiger - T.J. was a lion. I was a bear :) Oh my.
This year I wanted so badly to dress her up as a princess or a fairy. Finally, I convinced Scott that it was my Rite of Passage to have at least one decked-out girly costume. At first I tried to pair the kids as Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, and me as Grandma; but it was too hard to coordinate in so little time.
Then, I found the Pottery Barn witch costume that I had been eyeing since August. It was on sale in Maryland, and it was the last one in the entire U.S.A. (yes, I called around); and it was sold out online. It was a size 7/8, so hopefully I can cinch it up and it will be wearable. Obviously, she will be wearing it for the next 3-4 years, if Scott has any say.
I also got T.J. the PBK shark costume for 19.99 at the Pottery Barn Outlet in Virginia (also sold out online). He has been wanting that one since August as well. These will be my first PBK costumes. If you love PBK costumes, they have many of the online ones in the outlet stores for 19.99 - 24.99. Awesome deal!
Thus, Jili will be an elephant at the Zoo this weekend and T.J. will be a spider. On Halloween night, they will have the new costumes: shark and witch. I will either be Red Riding Hood or a witch too. I am such a geeked Mom right now!!! Please feel free to share your children's costumes.
Jill :)

Help a Fellow China Adoptee Raise Funds for Service Dog

One of the most amazing things, other than adopting alone, is seeing the transformation of a child who has come to know the love of a real family. One of the parents that helped us when we were trying to get Jiliang home, later traveled to China to adopt a little girl named Yun, now and forever known as Lili. Lili was deaf in China, and since coming to the United States, she has been able to hear in a different way, with advanced modern technology. Lili is thriving in her new home, evident in her smile alone. Now, her family is raising money to train a service dog for Lili, and be her Hearing Ear Dog. If you are able to donate, please check out her blog at:
http://bringinghomeyun.blogspot.com/
There is also a quilt auction and other items for sale on the site. Please check them out, and if you can help in any way, please do.
Oh, and one more thing. Watch this video of Lili getting her first hearing aid shortly after coming home to her new family last year. It's labeled, "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42HPe7RrZSY&feature=player_embedded
Thanks Everyone!
Sincerely,
Jill :)

Photo of the Koeppe Grandparents

As I type, I have to laugh at irony. I really love my in-laws, despite the fact that they are never pictured in any of the photographs or slideshows. Really, it is not intentional. We had dinner at their house last night and the kids enjoyed showing them their vacation video and Jili's China video.
The Koeppes, my husband included, are incognito when it comes to photographs - NOT that they are unwilling. My in-laws are always willing to get photos with the kids if asked; but if you don't ask, you will rarely see a Koeppe grandparent in a photo. On the other hand, when I met my husband, I would have to sneak in pictures of him, and he always grumbled, and NEVER smiled. Thus, I have very few of him while we were dating. Since having kids, he is very willing to get photos with the kids.
As for my in-laws, I apologized for not having them in the video, and told them that they needed to get a photo with the kids last night. Both teasingly grumbled about the photo, and my husband urged that we needed to leave soon, as it was a school night. Nonetheless, I ended up with the worst quality photograph before everyone dispersed. However, it is going on the blog until a more suitable photo is taken. The irony of it all: yes, I manage to snap a photo of the two incognito grandparents - Million Dollars Smiles on everyone - and the quality turns out so dismal.

Just for giggles, here is a photograph of my husband on our honeymoon. Our mutual friends tease that he looks like one of the statues in my wax museum album. To me, he has come a long way, and even being photogenic, in my opinion.

Scott in 2003 (Below):


Recent photos, taken this past 9/11




What can I say? The kids softened him.

Updated China Video with added pictures

I am becoming a videography understudy. I have made 3 movies now, and I get better with practice. In the last video, it was difficult to read the captions, so I upped the ante, and revised the video, to narrate our trip properly. There were so many incredible people that we met along the way, and I thought it was important to highlight those experiences. I also added some new photos at the end of Jili and T.J.

What's New:
September has been a busy month for all of us. T.J. and Jili went back to school in September, of course, and I started my pre-service teaching in Mid-August. We have had children's birthday parties three weekends in a row. All were outdoor ventures, and very fun. Last weekend, we drove to Sterling Heights (2 hours from us) to visit my friend Jess and attend her son's First Birthday celebration. My kids love Jessica and Baby Jacob, and they loved the party - especially the part about feeding the ducks. On Sept. 10th, we drove to Auburn Hills (also 2 hours away) and walked for Autism Speaks, with TEAM SPERLE, in honor of Firefighter Sperle's daughter, who has Autism. On Sept. 11th, we went to our Annual Adoption Reunion Picnic through Hands Across the Water, and local fire trucks were there.

Today, we went to have Jili fitted for her new wig at Children With Hair Loss in South Rockwood, MI. On the way home, we stopped at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Park in Monroe. T.J. and Jili posed by the monument, with the names of all of the Monroe soldiers who served in Vietnam. T.J. really seemed to grasp the concept of honoring fellow veterans, as we discussed our family members who served in Vietnam and the propensity of the Memorial. Afterwards, they played in the park. The park was really interesting. The play structure was built to help children develop balancing skills, gymnastics, and workout abilities. I took several pictures, which I will post soon. I nearly clobbered myself on a vault beam. I am so out of shape.

Jili's Hair

I can't believe my daughter decided to cut the side of her wig off two days before her school pictures. Nonetheless, she wore a hat in her school pictures today! Uggh!

Monday, Jili decided her hair was in her face, so while Scott was folding laundry, she decided to cut her wig. She trimmed off the entire side of her wig. Yesterday, she went to school for the first time without her wig. When she took off her hat, her peers saw her for the first time without her hairpiece, and started to ask questions. My mom has been working at the school, so Jili's teacher asked if she would like to come in and do an improptu discussion about Jili's skull deformity and partial baldness. The children handled it very well. They had a lot of curious questions, which were asked sincerely and respectfully. I was planning on coming in to speak with the class myself, after the class got to know Jili, but life sort of happened on its own.

Jili doesn't care. She was so happy to go to school with her hat, instead of a hairpiece. I am still trying to figure out how to sensitively handle her situation on a day-to-day basis. I struggle with hat versus wig; and also feel that she should just be Jili - just the way she is. Yet, there is the other part of me that wants to spare her any hurt, or even future resentment that I did not do everything I could to help her be a regular kid. I wish parenting came with a rule book of Standard Operating Procedures. Until then, I guess will be making mistakes daily, and operating under the trial and error system.

I just pray that as an educator, I can help create awareness of adversity and uniqueness, one class at a time, one child at a time. I also hope that I can be an advocate for other children and families facing adversity. Time will tell how God plans to use me in those matters.

Our China Video ~ Finally!!

I started this video about a week before Jili's Fifth Birthday, and I just finished it tonight. I decided it was time to share our China excursion from 2010. Let me know what you think. Jill :)

Happy Birthday Jiliang!!

Our girl turned FIVE today. It seems like yesterday that she was 3 1/2. Today, we made homemade playdough this morning, and T.J. and Jili have been playing with it for hours. Tonight, we are having Birthday cookies at my Mom and Dad's house, and opening presents. Tomorrow, we are having a Picnic Birthday Party for Jili at the lake. It should be very laid back: hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, Hello Kitty cookies, lemonade, and sand and water toys. Sunday, we have our church family picnic. Afterwards, we are using a gift certificate for a waterpark. I will definitely post pictures, along with a long-intended video of our Journey to Jiliang.
Jill :)