Perfect Pumpkins

If I never do another blog it will be too soon. Operator problems are making me want to scream and say words my children should not hear! This should have been simple, but after uploading things up to four times each I'm done! You get what you get today!

It might not be painted blue, but Carson shows his Aggie pride no matter what holiday it is! He enjoyed our night at the Pumpkin Walk this week as well. He is about as loveable as a three year old can get right now!

Sadie dug right in with carving her jack-o-lantern. She designed the face and stuck with her project until all the guts were out of her huge pumpkin. She doesn't like it when moms not home, but mom is insisting on time alone for dates with dad. She did love getting her first haircut from cousin Natalee. Two months as a Snyder now....there have been some bumps along the road, but lots of smiles from this little peanut!

Sara had to have 2 teeth pulled by the dentist this week, and inspite of HUGE roots she's still smiling. It was probably the $5 the tooth fairy left! She's getting really good at riding her brothers ripstick and is exited to start practicing basketball for the new season. I can't wait for Sadie to realize what a sweet and awesome sister she's got.

We found out this week we've got our very own thriller dancing zombie living under our roof. Hayden was excited to participate in the 5th grade assembly. He also reminded us we needed to go to Grandma and Grandpa's to rake leaves....to jump in of course!

Austin is a favorite because he's big enough to carve his own pumpkin! He had to work hard this week to catch up from last weeks sick days.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Last Girl Standing

We sniffed, sneezed, fevered, coughed, ached, moaned, and worse. It took us down one by one this week.....except Sadie. I would have thought new illnesses would get to her fastest and hardest, but here she stands with maybe a slightly elevated temp after everyone else in this house has been miserable. We are learning she does everything in her own sweet time, and apparently getting sick is included. Hopefully she gets to skip this round, but in a large family it's tough to escape the latest virus. There's bound to be a remote control, a piano key, a computer mouse or a lightswitch that the clorox wipe misses.

Besides a decent immune system, we continue to learn about this new little girl in our home. She loves helping the kitchen....baking, chopping, emptying the dishwasher, hauling in the groceries. She's quick to lend a hand and would probably rather do more, if I'd just ask her to. Maybe her love for the kitchen is growing since she seems to spend the most time eating. Usually the last child sitting at the table is stirring their food around making it appear as if they've eaten more than they have. Not Sadie, she's just still eating. Meal time is never rushed for her whether it needs to be or not. The bus is coming...we are late to church...time goes at a little different pace for her. We should all probably learn a lesson from her instead of trying to get her to hurry more.

Sadie also survived her first real dental work. They deadened one side of her mouth to do some fillings in top and bottom teeth. She got a little bored by the end but didn't complain. I'm sure it was a very different experience to take in for the first time. The worst part was she didn't like the taste in her mouth after and wouldn't swallow, so she'd drool or have to spit for a while. Next month she is scheduled for the other side.

Sisters share it all....even chicken feet dad brought back from China!

Todd loved China so much the first time he headed back again this week (for work). His food consumption and souveniers weren't quite the same this trip. Thinking about the things he ate in one week almost make me remember how it felt to have the flu. He tried sushi, 100 year old egg (which he says is as bad as it sounds), snail, donkey, octopus, squid, camel, eel and tongue. Gee, they all sound so great, I wouldn't have known where to begin!

With Todd being gone, I recruited Austin to help me trim the plants for fall. He did a great job and it was a nice project to finish up. Austin is also learning the Peanuts theme song on the piano, which is so timely. I catch myself thinking about the Great Pumpkin each day while he practices. I'll be a believer for sure this year.

As Sadie and Carson continue learning their ABC's together, it's become a van staple to crank up the Little People ABC music CD. Sadie's accented "bringing home a baby bumblebee" is just as cute as Carson's three year old version of "Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolli, lollipop". As far as school work goes, she complains her flashcards are too hard, or gives the answer "table" when she doesn't know what a picture is. I continue to wonder what is sinking in but marvel at her ability to keep on going.

I thought Halloween traditions might be a little strange for Sadie, but she's loved all of it. Pumpkins, apples, costumes...she's as excited as the next kid. We talk about what everyone will be dressing as for Halloween and she's excited to be a bunny. It might be a strange tradition, but I think any kid will not complain about trick-or-treating when the candy starts filling up the bucket!

Organized Chaos as Usual

Weeks like this are the reason I've avoided being a blogger. How do I write about a week where everything was routine, or something we've done before and make it interesting enough to read. You might not be one the edge of your seat but I'll do my best to just hit the highlights.

Todd headed to China Saturday morning with three other co-workers. He should be there for about ten days, unless work decides to send him on to Germany. I think he's trying to imitate either rock stars or general authorities in being able to say he's actually flown around the world.

I got together a group of friends in the neighborhood to kidnap one who was having a birthday. We went out for ice cream at 9 pm at night and had so much fun we were "shushed" by teenagers and questioned by a police officer who had stopped by for an off-duty (I assume) snack. Laughing with friends is great medicine for stress and every day insantiy!

We did enjoy some Cache Valley classics this week. Todd, Carson and I ate lunch at The Italian Place. It's a small sandwich shop tucked on a side road that's been around as long as I have. It feels like something you'd find in New York, just cleaner and less people. Then, I took the kids to the Farmer's Market on Saturday. They had a great, albeit chilly, time decorating pumpkins, collecting candy, looking at the booths and playing at the park. It was nice to check off the list something I've wanted to visit for years.

Sadie has been with us long enough to begin repeating weekly/monthly activities. I think she enjoys the familiarity. It's comforting when dinner is spaghetti and I know she will like it, or it's pack meeting night and she's off playing with the kids in the activities. Her ESL teacher sent home some flash cards to help build vocabulary. Just think for a minute, how many words you use in just a couple minutes of conversation. She participates in everything and enjoys to the fullest of understanding that she can. It was red ribbon week at school and the children dress in a different color each day. She was fine until Friday came and she couldn't wear the kitty shirt she'd wanted to all week--we considered her participation duty complete and chose kitty shirt and Sadie happiness above the color purple! She also got a big kick out of "booing" the neighbors by leaving Halloween treats on their door, knocking, and running to hide in the dark.

Freezing weather arrived so we picked the seven pumpkins we had from the garden. They were growing in Sara's section of the garden, along with her cucumbers. I love hearing Sara tell friends "I grow cucumbers." You'd think she'd been gardening for years. Anyway, our pumpkins weren't jack-o-lantern worthy so we went to the neighbors and purchased according to dad's rule "you can get as big a pumpkin as you can carry!"

So there you have it...a week of the usual, Snyder style. We'll try bumping into the Queen of England or something to pick it up a little this week.

Fall Fun

So I didn't really miss posting last week, it's still being tweaked. I've had requests for our story of how Sadie's adoption came to be, and it's a tough one to write, but it's in progress. This week, on the other hand, was full of fall fun with friends and photos!

The kids were out of school anywhere from all week to most of the week for conferences and UEA. Sadie cried when she found out she was the only one not going to school on Monday and Tuesday. I'm not sure why she was upset, but she seemed to feel better when I finally told her that her friends and teachers wouldn't be there either. I hope she didn't think I was just making her stay home. All the conferences brought good reports, and once again I'm very thankful for good kids.

A five day break calls for a mini-vacation, but with Todd out of vacation days for the year we were limited to local excursions. Of course I was hoping to get some work done as well, so we started with yard work and a hotdog roast on Monday night. Everyone put on their work gloves and started trimming the flowerbeds. Darkness came long before the flower beds were finished, but it was a fun night. Sadie and Carson loved helping, and mom loved the older kids actual help. Sadie tried all sorts of new food...hotdogs, blue jello, smores, and burst-a-bobs (Starbursts melted together on a roasting stick..and yes, they are good).

Other events for the week were playing with friends for hours (Sadie even venturing to a friends house without a sibling), going to the movie "Up" (another first for Sadie?), and enjoying a perfect fall day at Hogle Zoo with the Wise family and cousin Aleisha. (We learned to take carsick bags forever more when traveling with Sadie for longer than 20 minutes!) The baby elephant and baby giraffe were incredibly cute. Carson was the official map reader the entire day, spending almost more time studying it than looking at animals.

(Nothing like cold weather to get Sadie in jeans, tennis shoes and a hoodie! We knew the Utah weather would make her a fan of all of them!)

And what would conference (church, not school) weekend be without a photo session in the canyon with beautiful fall colors and self-proclaimed torturted children. I used to think it was impossible matching four childrens clothing and getting them to all smile at the same time....until we had five! Thank goodness for fast cameras. Last week when I pointed out the leaves were changing, Hayden responded with "Oh great, that means it's picture time again."

(This is our favorite Sadie face--it cracks us up every time.)

The reward for smiling and helping mom cut boxtops for hours for the elementary school was cinnamon rolls! I'm not sure which the kids find better...the cinnamon rolls, or "the feast" which is scraping up the glaze, brown sugar and butter left on the cookie sheets when the cinnamon rolls are gone. No wonder we are all seeming a little pudgy lately. I'm just hoping everyones bulk doesn't mean growth spurts are coming soon to outgrow all those new school pants.

Sadie continues enjoying routine, filled with firsts. She makes her bed as soon as she gets up, and then changes her teddy bears clothes. She is so good to eat whatever, and I keep hoping she feels like we did in China with the food being different but still delicious. She loves bread and butter and Sunny D. We know it's especially good when we get the "Sadie yummy!"

Even at the quick rate, it's hard to notice how much more Sadie is speaking unless we really concentrate on realizing what's new. This week the sentences were long and very noticable. "What are you doing?"

"So cute."

"This for you."

She's also adding words, but uses them as we do when speaking to her, which is typical language development.

Carson is still figuring out the new dynamics of our larger family. He loves Sadie and wants to sit by her and play with her, but the language barrier can be frustrating for both of them. They are two-peas-in-a-pod one minute and water-and-oil the next. He's in one of those times where his mind wants to be older and more independent, but his body isn't always willing or able.

The Fabulous Five!

So it's back to real life in the morning. At least we'll have cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

Welcome Fall

My goal is to post on Sundays, but they are rare family time lately, so Monday it is. Another full week of smiles, chaos, firsts, and hints of autumn are all around. We broke out the fall decorations, because if any season is welcome at our house it's fall! Cooler days (which Sadie notices most), changing leaves, soup for dinner...it doesn't get any better than that.

Sadie's first day at her ESL class was Tuesday and we knew it was time well spent when she was ask her name the next morning and knew how to respond. She came home from school later that day and proudly wrote her name for us all. For all our children that have gone to kindergarten already it was a simple time for them, although they still enjoyed it greatly. Sadie on the other hand, works so hard each day, and I'm sure we can't fully appreciate the great strides she makes almost by the hour. I used to think kindergarten homework was easy, until I attempted it with a child who doesn't speak English. Even charades doesn't work for "Draw a bird over the hippo" or "Say the days of the week and clap on the day that is your show and tell day." I'm grateful for sweet and loving school teachers and friendship that extends beyond language.

(Savoring the end of summer eating ice cream with some of the Sweeten family.)

We don't know Sadie's education experiences before we met her, but it's easy to see she is enjoying kindergarten. She a typical six year old...repeating the days of the week, singing the abc's, and anxious to show us her school work when she gets home. Her language is so similar to a toddler in it's development, only in fast forward. She learned names of family members and pets, now is moving on to phrases such as "sorry, ok, me too, one more." Her favorite seems to be "ok", although I don't know if she understands what she's approving all of the time.

Sadie and Carson's biggest first (we are assuming for her) was a trip to the dentist. Fortunately their siblings LOVE the dentist and set a good example. They both sat through cleanings like old pros, and you'd have thought the toothbrush and toy car reward were priceless treasures.

The whole family went and cheered runners on at the Top of Utah Marathon. Two of Todd's nephews were running this year. If you ever need inspiration, go and hang out at the finish line of a marathon. Amazing people come in all shapes and sizes, but with five children, we already knew that!

It's hard to believe we've been home from China for over a week now. My mental list of things I should write about is maxed out, so prepare for a novel! First, I'd like to remember things I haven't gotten a picture of this week but will always enjoy the memory of.... The kids laughing and playing together that first morning home, with Sadie joining in like she's know them a lifetime. Sadie's facial expression when they sang the "Hello"song to her in primary and substituted the word "Ni Hao" for hello. The feeling I had sitting by Sadie as the primary sang a song about eternal families and realizing how much she has to learn. Sadie's priceless smile as she got off the bus after her first day at school and then walking home holding hands with Sara. Sadie putting her hand on her heart during the flag ceremony at Pack Meeting, and hoping someday she will love this country like I do. I tend to write about events that happened and what food we ate, but the emotions we feel each day are wide and deep in all of us as we figure out the family dynamics of seven.

The first couple of nights home were long and difficult. Adjusting to time zones, new homes, new smells, new sounds, new family members, new beds, new potty schedules...it was more than anyone should take in at six years old. By the third night I really wanted to sleep more in my own bed, so I sat and talked with Sadie the best I could to explain the kids were heading back to school, she was safe, and I was sleeping with dad. She did her best pouty face and reluctantly agreed. I went to turn the light off and she objected (the night lights weren't cutting it), but by leaving on a light outside her bedroom we all got a good nights sleep! Was it the light? Was it time? Was it bravery? We'll never know.

Days with siblings at school aren't nearly as exciting as when they are home, so we braved a few stores to find some clothes that don't fall off this tiny girl. She knows what she likes...pink, soft, sparkly, bright.....she's a girl!

We've had family members trickle in over the week, and she's warmed up to most very quickly. She gives high fives, winks, pulls on your mustache, hugs you and says "hi, hello". I can't imagine it being very fun having so many strangers come over and stare at you each day, but she takes it in stride.

We met the school teachers (kindergarten and ESL). She didn't like the idea of going to school (I still wonder if we are even saying the correct word for school). Fortunately the first person she saw was an Aunt she'd met the night before and really liked! This made it all good. She loved her teachers and enjoyed looking around the classroom after school on Thursday.

Friday was Sadie's first school day. She has afternoon kindergarten, which couldn't start soon enough for her liking. She kept looking at her backpack, and you could just feel the anticipation. She happily went right in, started playing with blocks and waved goodbye to mom and Carson. The best part of school is a girl in her class that has been waiting to be her friend for months...their family has followed our story and shared in our journey as great supporters. What more could you ask for than a built in friend your first day of school!

Other firsts include watching the boys mow the lawn, jumping on the trampoline (loves it), riding a bike (loves it, even without the abilitiy to brake), pizza (not so much love), going with Sara to friends houses, playing night games in the backyard with a dozen neighborhood kids, having cousins and friends come to our house and play, riding the bus to school....oh the fun never ends at the Snyders! Each day I just shake my head and can't believe she is still smiling, still happy and still willing to keep going.

Everyone keeps asking how the English is coming. It's not coming, it's going....into her brain. She understands more of the common demands and questions we use on a daily basis. She will use a new word or two almost each day and hasn't given up her love for mimicking all of us. I think months will go by, and she will continue to absorb until she is so full of English words they will come flying back at us. But don't worry about her ability to communicate. If there is a point to be made, she will make it! If there is a boy named Carson who needs to be told on, she will tell! If there is a blessing on the food that has been forgotten, she will remind us!


So, here we sit in the middle of September, with one of the most fascinating people in all of Nibley. The never ending supply of kids around here keeps life busy enough that boredom doesn't last long. We try new foods, we improve our chopstick skills, we celebrate with neighbors at a mom/daughter party, we pray things continue on this positive road moving forward. We realize bumps will come and hope we are ready for them when they do.

We celebrated being home one week with chinese food from Mandarin Garden. It was a hit! When I see big smiles (or big tears) I always wish I could take away this language barrier we have and just talk with her. Does she miss her friends and nannies at the orphanage? Does she like our food or tolerate it? What was the best part of the first day of kindergarten? What does she think of her room? Maybe we'll find out next year. For now I believe/hope she is truly happy. As I tucked her in bed about our fifth night home, I did the usual...brushed back her hair and gave her a kiss on the forehead...."night, night...love you," I said. Her reply was the same, just partly in a different language, "night, night...wo ai ni". Maybe that language barrier isn't as tall as I think.

Dorothy Was Right

There's no place like home! I'm looking for ways to keep myself awake at this point, in hopes of getting back on the right sleep schedule, so here goes our last entry. It's hard to believe it's over and she's an American citizen, a Nibley resident, and a very loved Snyder girl already.

We started our last day in China with our final guide Michelle. She first took us to a jade store. They create amazing pieces with intricate details using diamond "drill bits". My favorite was what they call a family ball. It's a small ball inside a larger one, and then they are inside a larger one. Sometimes they even have 4 layers, all made out of one piece of jade. Each ball represents one generation of the family.

Then we headed to the Great Wall, and tried to make up for our lack of exercising while we've been gone. We only hiked up one section of stairs, but it was incredible. It is beyond my comprehension how they created something so huge in the time era they did. I didn't realize how steep the mountains could be. Then add the heat to working conditions, and it is truly a wonder.


Next came a closinne factory, which really helped us to appreciate the beautiful vases we'd seen. Again, the detail is amazing.

Our final excursion was a Ming dynasty emporer's tomb. Beijing is very rich with culture and history, and it was actually fascinating right down to an emporer's final resting place.
We had some wait time in the airport but finally boarded the plane for America. Walking through the last gate in China really hit me. I'm taking a child away from everything she's ever known and can only hope it's the right choice. We left at 9 pm and were able to sleep quite a bit. Sadie did really well on the flights and slept more than I expected her to. Being so small helps make an airplane chair more comfortable. We went through immigration quite quickly and got her passport stamped, making her an official citizen. Throughout the whole adoption process small things really become meaningful--a paper in the mail you've been waiting for, an approval from a government, a picture of your child, etc. and the small things like a simple stamp continued to mean so much to us.

They served us breakfast on the end of one flight, then we ate dinner before our next flight. The time change this way is more confusing since we arrived in America three hours before we left China, but we'd had a 12 hour flight. Then from LAX to Salt Lake. Seeing the lights of Salt Lake from the airplane window was such a welcome sight and I was glad to feel reassured that yes, we had made the right choice, and this is where she belongs and will be loved and happy.
On the ride from Salt Lake to Nibley, we had a little problem with Sadie staying in her carseat correctly. I hate being the mean mom, but some things have to be learned. It just isn't fun sticking a child in a carseat after hours of airplanes, airport lines, shuttle buses, and cabs. We enjoyed the smooth car ride on smooth rodes on a quiet freeway roads with nothing but wide open space to look at.

We made it to our house at 2 am and finally got to sleep about 4:30 am. It's always a shock when I have to show her new things--drinking from a drinking fountain, brushing your teeth using the water coming out of the sink, how to pet a dog, jumping on the trampoline. Sara woke up for a few minutes and got a chance to say hi to her. Sadie had fun looking around the house and really wanted to go outside and play even though it was dark. The neighbors barking dog was too scary though. She seemed to like her room and was excited about the toys that were out. She wasn't very tired and cried a little when I put her in bed. I just rested on the floor and held her hand wishing I could explain this is home, you are safe and loved, and it will get better. We finally HAD to wake her up at 10 this morning, before the other kids burst from excitement. She gave each of them a small gift we'd brought from China and within a matter of minutes they were off playing, laughing and holding hands. We've almost had to set time limits for them each to have a turn. If we can keep her awake, she will sleep well tonight. It's been great seeing her happier than we ever have. I know we'll settle in, and it won't always be rosy, but today has been pretty close to perfect.

I wish we could express the thanks we feel to all those who have helped us throughout this time. Our kids are happy, the house is still standing, and we owe so many people more than we can ever repay. We are surrounded with kind and giving people and can't wait for Sadie Jiao to meet you all and grow to love you like we do.