New Website

We have officially been added to the list of parents that think the internet can be a wonderful tool, but can also be used in terrible ways as well. I wouldn't call us "Paranoid", but rather use the word cautious to describe why we have created a new website for Piper. In addition, the new site will allow us to have journal, photos, and video all at the same site. We realize that we haven't been the best at updating the current site since we got home. (in fact, we're not sure is anyone is still looking at it) It is amazing how much time a 13 month old takes out of your schedule. We aren't promising daily, weekly, or even bi-weekly updates at the new site, but we will try to do better. The new site is password protected so we can better monitor who is looking at the site. We have sent an email to a group of people, but we know we have missed many that have used this site for updates on Piper. We apologize to those that have been overlooked, but with proud Grandparents and other family and friends that have passed the site on to others, we don't have everyone's address. If you did not received the email with the new site's information, please contact us so we can pass it on. You can leave comments here, email us, call us, or whatever works for you and we will be glad to pass the information on.

Thanks to everyone that has kept us in your thoughts and prayers thus far in our journey.

Michael, Vicki, and Piper

Mid-January Update

It has been very busy around our house, and we didn't even realize it had been so long since our last update. A lot has happened since we last posted about Piper's birthday. It has now been five months since we met Piper in Nanchang. It is amazing to see how much she as changed since our last update, let alone in the months since we met her.

I realize it seems late to be talking about Christmas, but when you post as little as we do these days, that's what happens, Christmas posts in Mid-January. We had a great first Christmas together. Piper is incredible spoiled by grandparents, aunts and uncles. She enjoyed opening all of her presents, and was very impressed with boxes. On Christmas eve, Piper decided that crawling was boring, and instead of dropping to her knees to get to the other side of the room, she took her first steps. It was only about 5 steps, then she dropped to her knees again. Since then, each day has included less and less crawling, and more walking. Now, she only crawls if she falls while trying to walk too fast.

She continues to learn more signs, and say more words. It is amazing how fast she picks up information. She now picks up our cell phones, puts them to her ear, and will say "Mama" (if she is at work and Piper is home with daddy), or "Papa". She has decided that baby food is for babies, and she is too big for that stuff. On the other hand, she thinks that bottles are definitely still the best option for getting milk. Sippy cup on the other hand are good for only one thing, throwing. Since we haven't been able to move on to the sippy cup, we started using straws for water. She is getting very good with the straw, and asks for water all the time.

We are looking forward to all the adventures that 2007 has planned for us. We have already started plans for celebrating Chinese New Year and a trip to Branson to see the Acrobats of China. We can only imagine what else is in store for our year. We will do our best to keep you updated.

Happy Birthday

The celebration for Piper’s birthday started last weekend on Saturday when her grandparents, along with other family and friends gathered to celebrate. The celebration started by going to church with Michael’s parents and sister. After church, Vicki’s parents joined us at P.F. Changs for lunch. Piper enjoyed the fried rice, but not nearly as much as the cheesecake we had for dessert. After a quick nap, guest arrived for cake and ice cream. Before gifts were opened, items were placed on the floor for Piper to choose from. The choice she makes is suppose to predict her future. She is a smart girl, and headed right for the money, and now has a future with great wealth. This was followed by Piper finally getting to rip paper without getting told, “no”. She did a great job opening gifts, and is now prepared for Christmas. Thank you so much for all the wonderful clothes, toys, and books Piper received.

The celebration concluded on Thursday, as Piper was taken out for a birthday lunch with Mommy and Daddy. After lunch, we marked her height, recorded a short video interview with her, and wrote a letter to her birthparents. We don’t know anything about her birthparents, but will keep the letter with picture from her birthday. We pray that somehow they will find comfort and know that she is loved and being cared for. The video interview consists of Piper telling us what sounds the horse, sheep, cow, dog, and duck make, along with her demonstrating the sign language she knows, and showing some of the words she has learned to say. Piper has enjoyed receiving the many birthday cards that have arrived. She thinks it is a lot of fun when some of the mail is for her. In addition to the cards, she got two very special emails wishing her a happy birthday from two of our China travel guides, David and Nancy.

It has been a wonderful week of celebration, and we now look forward to spending our first Christmas as a family. This has been a truly wonderful year for our family, and we look forward to all that 2007 has to offer. I’m sure with Piper, we won’t have a dull moment around our house.

On a side note, Piper’s newest phrase that she likes to say is “mei mei” (may may). She repeats it over and over for mommy and daddy to hear. For those that don’t know, mei mei is Chinese for “little sister”. Is it just jibber-jabber, wishful thinking, or a sign of things to come?

Festivals and Football

Piper has been very busy the last few days. On Saturday night, we attended the annual Wichita Asian Festival. It was a lot of fun and we are all ready looking forward to next year. The festival included music and performances from many different groups, as well as a lot of good food. This year, children adopted from Asia were invited on stage as a group to be recognized. It is wonderful to see the Asian community in Wichita reaching out to these children in an effort to keep them connected to their heritage. It was a great night, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We especially enjoyed getting to see many of our friends.

On Sunday, we traveled to Kansas City for Piper's second football game. The weather was very nice, and we all had a great time. Piper made a lot of new friends at the game as she signaled touchdown and gave "high-fives" to those around us. So far, the Chiefs are 2-0 in games she has attended.

Two amazing months

As hard as it is to believe, it has been just over two months since we met Piper in Nanchang. The time has passed so quickly and yet it is hard to remember life without her. Watching the video and looking at pictures of our first day together, and comparing them with life today, it is amazing to see the changes our little girl has gone through. On August 13, we met a scared, tired, grieving girl. Today, she smiles and laughs as Mommy counts to 5 or plays “paddy-cake”, claps and giggles as daddy pulls in the garage from a day at work, and “mmmms” after each bite of steamed egg is fed to her at suppertime.

The last 2 months have been full of many wonderful events for Piper and our family. Some of these include:

Attended a friends birthday party
First trip to the zoo
Learning to signal “touchdown”, waving hello, and clapping
Receiving Citizenship Certificate and Social Security Card
Lots of new food choices
Taking steps as Daddy holds her hands
Transitioning from tummy to sitting up
First trip to visit Lao Lao and Lao Ye (Grandma and Grandpa)
First trip to the farm to visit Ye Ye and Nai Nai (Nana and Papa)
Meeting lots of friends and family at shower in her honor (Thanks Nai Nai, Aunt T, and Aunt Missy)
First Chiefs game


In addition to these wonderful events, we have had some sad times too. Teething, shots at the doctor’s office, Daddy going back to work, and working on getting a sleeping pattern down have provided some difficult moments. Also, we miss the friends we made as we traveled in China.

Our first 2 months as a family have been amazing, and we can’t even imagine what the next days, weeks, months and years will bring.

Home a week

Sorry for the recent lack of updates. All I can say is that this jet lag thing is worse than I could have imagined. Piper has adjusted to the new time fairly well, and generally sleeping from about 8:00 pm to about 5:00 am. Mom and Dad on the other hand, set awake during the night, knowing that they should be sleeping.

First of all, thank you to everyone that welcomed us home at the airport. After 2 weeks away from home, and 30 hours of travelling it was wonderful to see everyone.

Piper is getting use to living in her new home. She was very overwhelmed at first with all sorts of new things to see and do, but is slowly taking it in. After a shopping trip to Wal-mart in China, she made or first trip to Target. Other than Target and a quick visit to the doctor for a check up, we have been pretty much staying close to home.

As with jet lag, when it comes to getting use to living at home, Piper is a few steps ahead of her parents. After 2 weeks of a breakfast buffet waiting for us each morning, guides to make sure we got to each scheduled appointment, and new friends to travel with, we had forgot how much work it was to take care of these things alone. Reality is hitting home, and we are slowly adjusting, but sure do miss that breakfast buffet and especially miss our friends that we travelled with.

Since being home, Piper has breifly met Nana and Papa (Michael's parents), Grandma and Grandpa (Vicki's parents), Aunt T, and a few other friends and family. As she continues to bond with us and get more use to her new surroundings, we are excited for others to meet her.

We're Home

We are finally home. After about 30 hours of travel time, and some very tense moments while trying to get to our connecting flight from Chicago, we arrive to a wonderful group of family and friends. Piper handled the trip very well. We already miss our travel group, but are happy to be home. We will post additional pictures as time allows.