The answer to the above question is hanging off of Riley:0) 54 DAYS!!!! We will be leaving July 8th and returning home July 23rd. I believe we will be booking our flights this weekend or early next week! All I have to say is looking at flights sure makes this feel real. We have hung the chain link in our kitchen so Riley can pull off a link as each day goes by.....that way she can see we are getting closer to the day that Howard and I leave to get Addison. I think we will make another one for the amount of days we will be gone as well. That way she will be able to visually see how many days left:0)
I am getting really excited/apprehensive. Nobody told me that I was going to have trouble sleeping this faraway from travel;0) If I could just get my mind to slow down maybe I could sleep! I think once the flights are booked and Addison's citizenship is somewhat figured out I will be able to relax a bit and just make lists for all the trivial stuff I hope to pack or get done before we fly to Beijing. I also have some responsibilities at the church that I need to find someone to take over while we are away at the very least...ideally I would like to have someone oversee our Families Helping Families Ministry for the whole summer. We will see as everyone has holidays they are on as well:0)
I am feeling really blessed that we are travelling in the early summer as the kids won't be bored from being out of school yet, therefore whoever has them will not have crabby bored kids to tend to. Also when we get back from China with Addison we will have 6 weeks to work on bonding and attachment, before the craziness of the school routine starts again:0) And I am praying that Howard will take off the rest of the summer from work....we will see how that works out! It would be lovely to have him around all summer:0)
Finally I have a question to put out there to the parents who already have kids home from China or elsewhere.This question is for families who regularly go to church (like only miss a couple times a year)When did you start going back to church after you returned home? I know every child is different, but.How did you know when to go back to church? Im interested in hearing everyones opinion on this, it will give me something to think about,as I am quite conflicted on the whole subject. All I know is I want to do whats right for my child:0)
We went the first Sunday we were back and Miah did great. Of course I did not leave her in the Nursery but she was very responsive to all the faces smiling at her! She does not shy away from excitement...may not join in right away but loves to watch all the action!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteWe started back the next week, BUT we made sure we were the only ones to hold our kids. We also came a few minutes late and left right before the end. That way the only time the kids had to be one on one with folks was during the greeting / handshaking time. :) We figured that they needed time to get used to church in general first. Also, it gave our church family a chance to see us all without the pressure of the close questions and well meaning touches. Hope I'm explaining this all nicely! Of course everyone is different. This is just what we chose.
Shelley
54 days....wow!!!
ReplyDeleteThis IS VERY real!!!!
We took Lilah to Church our second Sunday home, just because we were all still severly jetlagged that first Sunday. I went out on my own the first Sunday and I was an emotional basketcase, a lack of sleep and the first time leaving my girl...yeah...it was rough! Our Church doesn't have a nursery, so Lilah stays with us during the service. There wasn't a murmur out of her, honestly...she was a child made perfectly for Church. Lol! We always get comments on how we do it, but it's just her personality. She now tells us as we're walking up to our Church door....shhhhh, NO talking! Also I always bring a bag of fun stuff: colouring books, pencils, crayons, little notebooks, stickers, little toys, books and flash cards, but best of all, SNACKS! Yes, they were/are still, the best thing ever! They keep her very occupied! :)
We didn't let anyone hold Lilah and to be honest, she wouldn't let anyone touch or hold her other than us, so that was good...she's still VERY much like that. Well, other than her Sunday School teacher, whom she ADORES. In our Church the kids SS is after the morning service, while the adults have Bible study. She started SS in September '09. I guess she was 2.4 at the time and was home with us 9 months. She loved it from the very start!!
Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book!
Jill
We went back to church the second week home as well. The first weekend was our church campout and we went out for the day. Everyone was so excited to meet her, it was hard not to take her out and show her off! Tim teaches her Sunday school class, so for us he was with her and still is every class. In her other class (Mandarin) it has been almost a full year and she has now just let me leave. I didn't push it or force her to stay until she was ready.
ReplyDelete