And Just Like That...

This boy, my baby boy, is a teenager.

He has grown quite a bit from his tiny 2 pound 11 ounce beginning.

This was taken when he was just a couple of days old. Pictures do not accurately show his tiny size

He is a sensitive, loving child. I can barely comprehend that he is 13 years old and in 8th grade. That means high school next year! I mean, how???

The day he left the NICU

He checks in with me often to see how I'm holding up when we are away from home. He knows that social situations are often exhausting for me and he is always concerned. He will come up and rub my back and say, "Are you doing OK, Mom?" I can count on it. It is so precious to me.

He likes listening to music and loves a good book. He does not love getting up in the mornings and would sleep in every morning if he could. He asked a while ago if he could paint his room black. He did, and he loves it. He has a Star Wars theme going on in there now.

He is on the Junior Varsity basketball team at school. He still finds school easy and makes good grades. He is a funny kid. He has been in the school plays this and last year. He can be shy, so it surprises me that he does really well in school plays. Maybe he is going to be like me, introverted but not shy.

Keith and I took him to breakfast yesterday on his birthday. It was convenient that there was a 2 hour delay at school, so we could have breakfast together and still get him on the bus in time.

Last night Douglas took him to the Winter Jam concert. How fun is it that it was on his birthday!?

And now we begin life with 3 teenage sons in the house. Fun times!

Six Years

Six years ago today Eliana officially became a Martin. You can see our post from that day here. I love looking back, not only because it was such a wonderful day, but because the things I experienced that day have now become familiar. I have been back to Yu Garden many times. I have eaten delicious Chinese food many times. I can eat noodle with chopsticks like a champ.

But I digress. This girl right here. That's what it is about.

She is the most loving child. Sometimes she sees another child say something unkind to their mother and she is genuinely horrified. I could never treat you like that, my precious mom! It is the sweetest.

She loves pandas. She wants to move to China and take care of panda babies when she grows up.

She never misses an opportunity to say she is thankful to have a family. Her prayers are just precious. She always thanks God for her family and that she has the best mom and dad in the whole wide world.

She calls herself my sidekick and loves to do anything with me. She will say, "Do you need your sidekick, Mom?" and jump right in to do whatever I'm doing. She curls up beside me on the bed every chance she gets. She likes to ask, "Is it snuggle time?" And it normally is when she asks.

We are so thankful that little Wu Xing Yao became Eliana Peace Martin six years ago!

Happy Birthday, Freeland!

I will get back to my post about the boys I met in Taiwan, but today is all about Freeland.

This morning

This boy, this quirky, funny, risk-loving son of ours turns 16 today. For him that means getting his driving permit and one step closer to independence. For me it means that 16 years have disappeared into thin air.

At about 1 week old.

I know everyone says it, but wasn't it just yesterday that our tiny son was born at 32 weeks? I'll never forget that first day, seeing him in the NICU, the tiniest baby I had ever seen at that time.

And, at times the days have seemed long. So long. But the years... how can they be this short?

age 4

This sweet boy loves his dog. He loves basketball and doing things with friends. He is outgoing and likes to be busy, but he does love a good cozy afternoon at home too.

In the evenings, after the girls go to bed, he heads straight to our bedroom where he, Casper, and I watch different series together. Or sometimes we just talk and laugh. We have had some of the best jokes and conversations in those times. I know I will always cherish those memories and hope that he will too.

He works at Chick-Fil-A on Saturdays right now. He doesn't love doing jobs around the house, but apparently he does know how to work well because we get great feedback from his managers.

Age 12 

Tomorrow we are going to go let him take his written test for his driving learners permit. He has been studying so I think he will do fine. And then, oh God watch over us. This reckless child of mine will begin to learn to drive.

There is no way I can put into words the way I love this boy. Happy birthday, son. May God be near to you in the coming year.

A Tale of Two Boys {Part 1}

You all know that I went to Taiwan in November. This was my third time to travel to Taiwan with Superkids. I haven't talked about my trips there much. It has been an emotionally conflicting  subject for me.

This gorgeous child from Taiwan now has a family.

The organizations we visit in Taiwan are different from the orphanages we visit in China. Not in a good way, not in a bad way, just different. Right now, due to some changes in China, we are not able to visit orphanages. Naturally this makes me sad. I love China. I love the kids I know there.

You may not think Taiwan would be that different from China, but it is a totally different program with different guidelines and a different timeline. In order to be a good advocate for children from a specific country you need to understand the way adoptions work in that country. At one point it made me feel tired just to think about learning everything I needed to know to really throw myself into advocacy for children from Taiwan.

A bridge near one of the orphanages we visit in Taiwan.

I am not the type of person who can have a door right in front of me and not step through {shocker, I know}. So I started asking questions and learning.

I know that none of this seems to have anything to do with two boys, but I need to share the background before I can move on. I'm getting there...

Our youngest man-child last summer at the bay.

I started out as a boy mom, having three sons first. I love being a boy mom! I love that these big, taller-than-me boy-men are still my little boys. I love these teenage years. When they were all little, I couldn't imagine them being this size. I had no idea that parenting teenage boys would be this amazing and this difficult. I also didn't foresee how much the man-children would still need their parents.

So when I meet older boys in orphanages the ones who tug at my hearts the most are the ones who remind me of my sons...

I feel like this is getting too long. And I need you all to actually hear the story of these two boys. So I'm going to stop here and continue this post tomorrow. Please come back. I need to share this with you...

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from the Martins!