Fall and Winter at the Clark

Well, it's been a while since my last posting. To say we've been busy would be an understatement for certain. I'll do a quick month by month trip down memory lane so you know what we've been up to lately.

October... DISNEY!! Talk about a great time. The four kids love it there, so much so, that we joined the Disney Vacation Club so we can go down annually/bi-annually with them. Will and Jocelyn were awestruck seeing their favorite characters up close and full size and Griffin and Elena had a good time taking in the bigger rides and hanging out with their friend Jillian who lives in Orlando. We'll be heading back down again this year, this time taking their Mim and Pop along for the trip. Griffin and Elena both started fall soccer and did really well and had a great time. Halloween was a great time. Like always, all the cousins came to our house to trick-or-treat together. We had a geisha, lady bugs, a safari guides, a princess, a french man, even a prisoner at the house this year to take the town by storm and bring home the big candy.

November... BIRTHDAYS!! We have ALOT of November birthdays in our family. Will , who shares his special day with his Dad and Uncle Chris, celebrated his 3rd birthday with a construction party (the house looked more like a demolition zone when it was all said and done). His favorite present was a train set from Thomas the Train. We feasted well at Mom and Dad's house for Thanksgiving. I think I'm still trying to work that dinner off at the gym, but boy was it good.

December...CHRISTMAS!! With four kids, our house looks like Toy's R Us exploded in it. Santa and our families certainly take very good care of the Clark kids at this time of the year. They all looked so pretty/handsome in their holiday outfits (not that getting them on some of the kids was without protest. I won't tell you which one is the biggest pain about getting dressed up but it starts with a G and ends with riffin) We opted out of the Santa photo as Jocelyn is terrified by him this year. We'll try again next year and see what happens. The big kids had their Christmas concerts and sounded wonderful. Griff played his trumpet with the 4th grade band - they are quite a talented group of kids. We had our usual party(s) every weekend so we keep plenty busy and in the holiday spirit. We had a very nice winter break with the kids. Both Len and I were off with them so we had a nice time hanging out together and just relaxing, testing out every new toy and lounging in our PJ's on some lazy days.

Hope your fall/early winter was has great as ours. Until the next time...

Home for a Year!!

Crazy but true, as of October 1st, we've been home with Will for an entire year! It seems as if he's been with us forever, but I can tell you step by step where and when we were in China a year ago like it was yesterday.

He's an amazing little man. So spirited (ornery), fun (hysterical, actually), loving (a big kissy bug) and just absolutely meant to be in our family (translation: attitude)

To celebrate both his gotcha day and year home with us we all went out to a nice dinner with my parents (two of his favorite people, his Mim and PopPop).

It's been real whirlwind to get to this point...

• China for three weeks to meet out little man
• The first four months was Drs., Drs., and more Drs.
• His 2nd birthday
• Every holiday (major and minor) and sibling and cousin's (up to 2nd and thirds down the line) birthdays, Christening, etc. together
• Weekly Physical and speech therapy
• Running, playing, jumping, crashing, hopping, yelling, dancing, fighting (He's all boy)
• I go back to work full-time after several months home
• Three post-placement home studies (thanks NJ)
• Re-adoption in NJ
• Getting kicked out of physical therapy for doing so well
• To Baltimore for Len's graduation for his Doctorate
• Len takes off the summer to hang with the kids
• Take Gram to the shore for the week to celebrate her 80th birthday
• A minor surgery for Will
• A Grateful Family for it all!!!!!

Next week - Disney World Orlando. Watch out Mickey, here we come!

Summer Fun

Summer has been full of activities and excitement. We've been to pools, parties, picnics and parades over the past couple of months. Next week we head to the shore for a week of fun in the sun. Can't wait to take the kids in the ocean and flop in the waves and on the boards for some games, ice cream and of course rides.

Swimming is high on the kids lists of fun things to do. They all LOVE the water (well, Jocelyn not so much) and you can't get them out once they are in. Will is an absolute fish, Elena is getting more confident with her swimming, Griffin likes to hang with the big guys and play water football and Jocelyn, well she'll put her toes in, but it's a start.

We've hit a couple of parades this year and the kids have a great time watching and for the two older kids, walking in them with the Scouts.

In July we joined our local FCC chapter for a picnic at a local lake for the annual Dragon Boat Festival. We ate, swam, met other adoptive families and of course made and floated dragon boats. It was a great time and a great group of people, we look forward to the next FCC event.

Len has been home on leave with the kids for the summer. It's been a great opportunity for all of them to bond and have some serious Dad only time which is a rarity. I think Len has enjoyed it so far, but recognizes that they are quite a handful and need a lot of attention.

Griffin and Elena will be heading back to school in just three short weeks. Elena can't wait to go back, Griffin would wait forever to return.

Almost a year home with Will, but more on that next time...

Re-adoption in NJ and U of B

If Will had any hope of getting away from us anytime soon, he's too late for that! We did his New Jersey re-adoption on May 7th with Judge White so he's now officially ours two times over.

Since the other kids weren't able to be with us when we traveled to China for Will we felt it important that they were with us for this official event.

They all wore the silks we bought for them while in China to support their little/big brother on his special day. They all looked so nice in their clothes and we had many comments from passersby about how handsome or beautiful each of the kids were and how they loved the colors in their outfits.

We made a day of it with kids, Mom and Grandmom in tow. After the proceeding the eight of us went to a nice dinner at a local restaurant to top off the celebration.

Yesterday we received Will's adoption letter from the Surrogates office and should have his NJ issued birth certificates very soon so we can get him his US passport. His passport will be the final legal document we need to change.

We also just celebrated another special day on May 16. Len, or should I say Dr. Clark attended his graduation from The University of Baltimore. We spent a long weekend in Baltimore at the Inner Harbor with the kids and Mom and Dad. We were all so proud to see him walk across the stage, receive his diploma and get hooded. It was a magnificent accomplishment for him and we cannot say how happy and proud we are for him and of him. Dr. Dad is amazing from our kids point of view and can do anything (except fly as the card they got for him pointed out).

A question about "the arm"...

We've actually been asked some odd question about our sons arm such as "What do you think of his arm?"

What do we think of it? It's an arm, his arm. Albeit missing from 2 inches below his elbow, it's just an arm. ACTUALLY, we love his arm. If he didn't have it, we wouldn't have him, plain and simple.

Another is "What to you think when people look at it?"

That curiosity has the best of them. Which of you has ever seen a tiny little Chinese boy with a missing hand running around all willy nilly? Until we saw a photo of our son, I know that I hadn't. Actually, I didn't even know what our son's special need was initially. I saw a photo of him from the shoulders on up and knew that he was the child we'd been waiting for. It wasn't until we requested his file for review that we knew what was special about him.

Yet another "How do you handle when people ask about his arm?

We answer them as honestly as possible. We don't know how come or why it didn't grow. We assume ABS (amniotic band syndrome) but he doesn't have any actual banding marks on him anywhere. Maybe it just simply was never supposed to be there anyway, who knows. I'm sure the time will come when someone says something rude or hurtful. How will I handle it? I'd like to say with grace, but I'm not so sure. We all know not to mess with a bears cubs. I guess that will depend on if our children are with us or not when the question is asked. But I will try to handle it the best I can at that time.

and "Geez, I guess it really limits what he can do?"

News flash - we're yet to find anything that he can't do that is appropriate to his age. He walks up and down stairs, can climb on the table (although not allowed to), open doors, waive with it, hit his sister with it when he's mad (also not allowed to), pet the dog, hit a balloon, etc.

His arm doesn't define who he is. It doesn't make him any more or less special. It doesn't impede his ability to love, laugh, smile, hug, wave hello or goodbye. When he falls down and hurts it, we kiss it to make it all better, because it's just an arm.

For us it's a blessing. For him it's just how he's made.

"A little this and that'...

Needless to say, our Will is a real whirlwind... He's non-stop, 100% pure boy. Loves to tumble, roughhouse and be in the mix. Climbs like a monkey on just about anything he can get on (along with his baby sister). As a matter of fact, found them both standing on the kitchen table dancing the other day which was a real heart stopper! They are into everything together and great escape artists.

He's discovered the Wii and loves to play Just Dance. I might add that he's got great rhythm and usually beats most first time players which leads to embarrassment by most for his competitor after being bested by the 2 year old dance machine.

Len successfully defended is Doctoral dissertation on the 10th of this month so the kids are now calling him Dr. Dad. We can't say how proud we are of him for this amazing accomplishment. We will head down in May to his University for graduation. We're excited for all the kids to see him walk in graduation, we think it will be a really positive experience for all of them.

Griffin will begin baseball in the next couple of weeks. He's really excited about it and just loves the game. He's doing well in school. Once again our little man shaved his head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation for childhood cancer research. This is his third year! It's amazing that someone so young wants to help others and is willing to alter his physical appearance to accomplish his goal. He likes the fact that people will ask about why he shaves his head so he can explain why he, his dad and Pop all do this together.

Elena is still Irish Step dancing and participating in Girls Scouts. The other night they held a circus variety show at a local theater. It was a cute production and I know the girls like to put on a show for everyone to see. They were dressed as clowns and as cute as could be during their acts. She's doing great in school and would rather be there learning then really anywhere else (gets that from her Dad)

Our tiny little Jocelyn is still as cute as a button and lovable. Her asthma has been more frequent with the warmer weather but we're managing it with her treatments, she's not been hospitalized since the fall and we hope that we don't have a repeat anytime soon. She and Will are like two peas in a pod and need to be together or at least know where each other is at all time.

Wishing Happy St. Patty's day to everyone and happy spring.

There's so much to share...

I've not updated for a few months now and there is just so much to share about Will and the kids, overall.

Let's start with Will's medical. He's seen specialists in Ortho, Neuro, Cardio and Ophthalmology for various concerns. Well, I am happy to report that we've been kicked out of all never to return or have a return visit in 2 years for follow-up. We are THRILLED that he has gotten a clean bill of health. He is the perfect, healthy little man.

In November he began physical therapy to help out with his balance due to his missing lower right arm. It was throwing him off a bit and he was falling a lot, but now that he's built up his upper body strength, he's a whirlwind and has even learned to climb the stairs (I'm not so keen on that but the PT taught him how). We've yet to find anything that he limits himself with, which is fantastic. He keeps up with everyone and doesn't miss a beat.

He also began speech therapy to help him along with his English understanding. That is coming along a little slower but he's mastered several words in his short period since coming home. Jocelyn is talking up a storm so I think the competition with his little sister is going to be a good thing for him. As we did with the three kids, we taught him basic sign language. He's signing up a storm and modifies it when it requires the use of two hands so his own sign for that word or action. He is one very smart boy.

He celebrated his 2nd birthday with a big bash at home with all his Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents which brings 40 people on average to a party at our house as I have a large family. Len can't be happier that he and his newest little man share the same birthday. We knew he was "our" boy as soon as we saw his photo way back in April but when he and Len had the same birthday we new it was just meant to be.

We moved into Thanksgiving which was at our house and with the same "lot" of family milling around. As he likes to eat and eat and eat, I have to say this was one of his favorite holidays.

Christmas was a blast. He and Jocelyn really enjoyed unwrapping the gifts, I should have remembered that wrapping paper is much more exciting from when Griffin and ElenaGrace were younger.

Santa was "OK" at best. He was even better if he was at least 50 feet away and could be waved to. Both Will and Jocelyn did sit on his lap and get a photo, but only after a few seconds of back arching and attempts to escape.

We've moved into the new year with a bang, literally. We let the babies bang pots and pans and blow horns out on the front porch before they went to bed for the night. They had a blast.

Happy New Year to everyone.