Shen's First Christmas

Christmas, 2008...Shen's First Christmas as a member of our family! It was fairly calm considering that Shen calls the Jolly ole St. Nick, Santa Clock (can't say Claus yet) and he didn't quite understand Santa got down the chimney, left presents and then went back up the chimney. We got up around 7:00 to a beautiful White Christmas, but didn't let Shen go into the family room until everyone was present. We had cinnamon rolls as we opened presents. Shen made a haul, as did Connor! Every year we say we are not going to get all these presents, and then.....well, you get the idea.
Here are some pictures from our morning together. It was great fun and we are all now recovering from the festivities.
The one thing we never want to forget is the reason for the season and that is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. So, Connor and Shen ended the morning by singing "Happy Birthday!" to Jesus! It was a great day!
We pray that all of you had a blessed Christmas!!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

A REALLY cold Winter Day

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in awhile but it has been an incredibly hectic season for us. No excuse, though; and I will try to keep a better record going forward.
Today, although it is only the first day of Winter and the shortest day of the year, it is also the COLDEST. We awoke to a regular temperature of -9 degrees with a wind chill of -36 degrees. Now, that my friend, is COLD!!! So, I thought I would initially show how Shen is spending the morning. In the picture, please note that he is watching the movie CARS while wearing his CAR pajamas, with a blanket over him. Also, note the SpongeBob slippers staring at you from his feet under the blanket.

On another note, Shen's follow up visit to the doctor last week went very well. The tubes remain inserted and in place. We are being very careful not to get water in his ears but don't think that this kid is not having fun. While I was in Orlando on business this past week, we had a big snowstorm in Chicago. School was cancelled so Connor was home and took Shen sledding for the first time. Although I didn't get to witness it myself, Jodie left me voice mails all day that little man was having the time of his laugh going down the hill behind our house and then pulling his sled back up to do it again. That has become one of his favorite phrases, "Do it again!"
We hope all of you are well.
With Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Building an indoor fort on a cold winter day

Everything is going really well except that it is REALLY cold here in Chicago. When I returned from our Orlando headquarters yesterday, it was 9 degrees and there was about 4 inches of snow in our driveway, some of which had melted during the night, then froze (Yuck!). Since Shen had his ear surgery one week ago today, we are still keeping him indoors and not exposing to the winter elements too much. So, on these cold winter days, what else is a little 4-year-old to do but build a fort in the family room. Using cushions, sheets, blankets, rugs, pillows, and anything he could get his hands on, little man made this fort all on his own, and without any of us knowing he was doing it. He came in the next room and said, "Come look!" Well, this is what he demonstrated to us. I LOVE this kid's imagination.
We hope all of you are well and preparing for this wonderful Christmas season.
May God be with you!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen's Surgery

Today was the big day. Shen had tubes put into both ears. For those who don't know, this was done because there was a lot of fluid behind both eardrums due to the cleft surgeries and it needed to be relieved.
The procedure went well and Shen is doing great. The doctor's only concern is that his eardrums are extremely thick and there is a possibility that the tubes could get squeezed out. But, we will just be patient and see what God has planned for this part of Shen's Journey. Here is the way today went.
We got 4 inches of snow overnight so I got up at 5:30 and shovelled a quick path for the Jeep, then we left at 6:15 for the hospital, arriving right at 7:00am. We got Shen registered and we all immediately went back to his "suite." After a little paperwork, they put little man in his hospital "attire." You can see him in his personally "fitting" robe in the first picture. Then, they brought him PRESENTS!! He got a hand-made pillow and a hand-made dinosaur (both seen with him in the second picture) as well as a hand-made blanket. He LOVED them!
Then, they gave him a sedative to help him relax before taking him into the Operating Room. Well, this became quite the scene. He behaved very well but he became REALLY goofy on the medication. We couldn't stop laughing (with him, not at him). Finally, he went back to the O.R.
After about an hour, we spoke to the doctor and went back into his recovery room. He came out of the anesthetic really well, just a little groggy. About an hour later, he got to ride in his little set of wheels (final picture) and we came home. He continues to do very well; no pain, yet not very active. He's just having a pretty laid back day.
We hope and pray that all of you are well.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen's First Thanksgiving

All of us have so much to be thankful for! This was a very special Thanksgiving holiday for the Groppel family. Although Connor wasn't with us this weekend, we had a wonderful and low-keyed family kind of Thanksgiving. Most of the day was spent at home with periodic "short" discussions with Shen about what Thanksgiving meant. Much of this was explaining how thankful we are for having him enter our life this fall.
In the late afternoon, we went over to Pastor HB's home for a "small" Thanksgiving dinner. There were a few children present and you can see in attached photo that Shen got in the midst of a hide-and-seek game with the other children. Dinner was outstanding and then it was back home for a low-keyed time of connection at home with mommy and daddy. This is definitely an incubation time for all of us as we continue the "attachment" process with Shen.
As we end the Thanksgiving weekend, I would ask for prayer around something. Shen, due to his repaired cleft palate and lip (which was a very good repair, by the way) has some fluid behind both ears that prevent him from hearing clearly. This Monday, December 1, he is having some minor surgery to put small tubes in his ears to both drain and help dry the area. Apparently, it will create a "night and day" situation and he will be able to hear clearly. It's all in God's hands!
We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Football Rivalry Day

The picture alongside today's blog is in reverence to mommy's school. Notice how the little man is dressed in yellow and blue that big 'M' on his cap. Yes, "Go Blue!" was a catchphrase at our home this past Saturday. Unfortunately, the maize and blue of the University of Michigan went down to defeat to grandma and grandpa's OSU Buckeyes. And, then daddy's school (the University of Illinois) took it on the chin from Northwestern. So, both mommy's school and daddy's school will not be in bowl games this winter (yuck!). However, daddy's "other" school (Florida State) beat Maryland and has an 8-3 record, before playing FLORIDA this next Saturday. And, that far eastern Big Ten school, where many of daddy's family has attended (yes, Penn State), is going to the Rose Bowl (go JoePa).
Everyone is doing great and we hope all of you are well!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Grandparents First Visit

What a great weekend we have had. Jodie's parents, Doyle and Judy Smith, came over for their first visit since Shen joined our family. We have had a fantastic time! It was the only chance to get a visit in with the grandparents before the end of the year and we all really felt that it was important for Shen to meet his only grandparents.
We stayed very low-keyed since there is no need for too much excitement. We are still "incubating" with the little man and not going out too much with him. We have been coached to not get him around too many people at once.
Today was the Illinois-Ohio State fans and, since Doyle and Judy are RABID Ohio State fans, little man wore a sweatshirt in their honor (thanks to grandma bringing it over to him).
Enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Halloween and Attachment

Sorry it's been a little while since I've blogged. We have been really busy and I have been traveling a bit. In fact, we are truly realizing the attachment issues that Shen has. Jodie and I knew that they would be there, but it is now that when either she or I leave the house, he doesn't like it at all. And, when I go on a trip, it has been really tough. But, with God's help, we will make it day by day and we all know that one day Shen will realize that we will NEVER leave him as a family. The poor little guy has been left so many times that he probably is waiting for "this family" to leave him to.
On a different note, I haven't had a chance to post the pictures from Halloween. Please take a look at our little man in his Giraffe outfit, then with big brother Connor (Connor is a gangster), and finally after getting all the goodies and sitting with mommy on the front step. By the way, I have to say that it was a hoot going around the neighborhood with Shen. It was almost like he would look up at me and was saying, "Are you telling me that we just ring the doorbell, and people smile at me, then give me candy?" Do we get to do this everynight??????
We hope all of you are well,
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Daylight Savings Time has Ended

Hello Everyone,
Well, our family, like all others, is going through the biological "stuff" when the time changes to "fall" back an hour. The day felt longer, and darkness hit WAY too early. Shen's biological clock is off as well. He was tired much of the day but hung in there until normal bedtime. Then, he woke up at 2:30 am and ready to go. We got him to finally rest and go back to sleep but, he woke again at 6:00 and daddy got up with him.
One fun part about yesterday was playing with all the neighbors. First, Shen and daddy went to the neighbor's sport court and the entire Ward family (plus Andy's sister Betsy) came out to play tennis, shoot baskets, and throw balls. Then, mommy set up a chair in the garage to watch the boys (Connor, the Wards, Nick Aylmer, and Shen) play some "front yard" football. It was absolutely hilarious to see Shen "mixing it up" with the big boys in some fun, tackle football. He didn't back down at all and really got in the mix.
Tonight will be another adventure. Our family is going to Connor's all school chorus concert about 10 miles away. It will be interesting to see how the little man hangs in there for a 2-hour concert. Wish us well!
We love you and hope you are well.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Happy Birthday, Shen!

The big birthday itself was last Saturday, October 25. However, since we already had the Playgroup party planned, and since we have been coached to minimize the chance of "overstimulation," the celebration of Shen's birthday was put off until this past Monday. He got a lot of cards, a big, new car (from the movie CARS), and a really cool wooden train set from our neighbors, the Wards. To celebrate Shen's birthday, Margie Ward and her two sons, Colin and Armin, joined us for cake and a little playtime. Shen sat "patiently" as daddy read all the cards to him, and then devoured his birthday cake. Big brother, Connor, helped open presents (as only a big brother can) and little man spent the rest of his night playing with his new train set.
Enjoy the pictures of Shen's 4th birthday party!!!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Adoption Playgroup Halloween

This past weekend, we took Shen to his first Halloween party! It was a blast! Little man wore a giraffe outfit and seemed to fit in pretty well, considering he may have never seen a bunch of kids in Halloween outfits before. He painted a pumpkin (note the picture), played Halloween bingo, played games with all the kids and parents, and then tried to break a Halloween pinata with all the other children.
The party lasted about two hours but the time went by so fast, it was incredible!
Sunday, we went to the mall to get a new snowblower (wait till Shen sees snow for the first time), and then went swimming at the fitness center. He LOVES to swim, even though he can't.
We hope all of you are well.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

My First Trip Away/Shen's New Monkey

Well, today is the day we have thought about, planned for, but no one knows what will happen. I leave for my first trip away since Little Man and I met on September 8. The GREAT part is that Jodie has really connected with Shen in a big way! For that, I am thankful! So, I'm off to Portugal for three days, returning late afternoon on Friday.
A couple of fun things have happened this week that I want to share. Last week, Connor and Shen got on our neighbor's sport court and "kicked" the ball around. You will see from the picture that they had a great time outside.
The second picture is courtesy of our neighbors, the Wards. They got Shen a little monkey that he just loves! The picture is how he positioned the monkey to join him while watching TV. And, on a funny note, Margie Ward asked me what he had named the monkey. Since I didn't know, I asked Shen the name of his monkey and he exclaimed, "Monkey!" As if I didn't know..........
We hope all of you are well!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Dr. Visit and Trails of History

The past few days have been eventful, needless to say. Shen went for his second doctor visit to get the results of his immunization testing. The good news is that he has most of the immunizations he needs, the bad news is that he still needs a few. So, round 1 of shots took place on Friday. Shen was a real trooper, just looking at the needle in his arm, as if to say, "OK, when are you going to really give me a shot?" The next round of shots will be in late November. There is also a bit a "cautionary" news. Because of the tainted milk problem in China, and the fact that Shen may have been exposed to the milk, he has to get an ultrasound to check for kidney stones. The results of the ultrasound will also be given to us at the next doctor appointment in late November.
On a fun note, Shen and I went to the Trails of History exhibit in northern McHenry County yesterday. It is a re-enactment of life in Northern Illinois during the late 1800s. I LOVED it but I don't think Shen could really appreciate it. All the food was cooked on an open fire, there was clog dancing, military procedures, trappers demonstrating their goods (note the photo with this post), Indian dwellings, and the whole nine yards. It was really great!
We hope and pray that all of you are well!
God Bless!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen's First Emergency!

Well, there was a little excitement today in the Groppel household! I was on the phone, finishing a call and Shen walks up to me and very calmly holds his hand up with one of his wooden rails (from his train set) attached to his forefinger. And, I mean attached! As you can see in the first picture, he had somehow forced his finger through the hole in the rail and couldn't get it out. So, being the calm daddy that I am, Shen and I walked upstairs and pulled the vaseline out of a drawer in our bathroom. Mommy, hearing that we had come upstairs, came over to see what her boys were up to and saw the predicament. Well, vaseline didn't work. Connor came in the door and thought we should try soapy water. Great idea, but it didn't work either. So, Shen and I headed downstairs, got the car keys and headed for the emergency room.
However, our neighbor (the newest angel in Shen's life) Andy Ward, is a physician (he heads up the Anasthesia department at Sherman Hospital) and he was in his driveway. I pulled in his driveway and in our neighborly way of doing things, exclaimed that "We are headed for our first emergency room trip!" Andy came over to investigate and knew he could take care of it. So, it was back to our house!
Andy first tried thread to get the finger down a bit, then he tried ribbon (which is the second picture). Finally, he said, "We probably need to cut it off." Andy went over to his house and came back with some big wood cutters. Shen remained calm while Andy did surgery on the wood (the third Picture). The wood fell away from Shen's finger and all was well again!!
Thank you Andy for being a special person in Shen's early life with us!!
We hope you enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen's First Tennis Strokes

Well, I know a lot of you have been wondering when this would happen. I have even been asked "When are you going to get him on the court?" Today was the day!! I had a tennis workout planned with my good friend, Rick Miller, this afternoon and the Little Man went with me. Mommy's ankle is not healing very well so we decided to give her a break and the boys went out for a little tennis.
For most of the time, he stayed in the shade (it was 83 degrees today) and played with his trains. I could tell that he had never been around a tennis court before because all he kept saying as Rick and I were hitting was, "Wow!" Toward the end, Rick and I thought we would get him out on the court with us. Rick was kind enough to toss balls to Shen and, without any teaching, he made contact pretty well.
It has been a beautiful weekend here in Chicagoland but we all know it is short-lived. Even Shen realizes it (I think) because, when he reads at night with Mommy, one of his books is about an adventure with Winnie the Pooh. The book takes Pooh and Piglet through all the seasons, with Winter being at the end. On the Winter pages, Pooh is building a snowman and Shen will point to it, seeming to indicate that he is going to do that. Yes, you will Shen. Chicago weather in December, January and February is not like Southeast China, where it is summerlike all year long.
We pray that all of you are well.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

World's Largest Corn Maze

Hello everyone! This has been a fairly uneventful week as Shen is enjoying his first seasonal change. He is noticing the trees changing color and cool, crisp air as Autumn grabs the Chicago area full bore. Jodie is planning to involve Shen in a couple of playdates over the next few days with other families who have adopted children, so it will great fun to witness how well he socializes with other children. To date, everything we have seen is that Shen connects very well with other children, sharing and enjoying the all the activity that comes with toddlers.
Recently, Connor, Shen and I went to Richardson Farm, which boasts of the world's largest corn maze. It is 28 acres and has 11.1 miles of maze trails. Please look at the first picture to see an aerial view of this year's maze, dedicated to the Election Year. After that you can see various pictures of Connor and Shen posing at different parts of the maze. There is a picture of them preparing to enter the entire maze with a sign above, saying "Get Lost Here," then a picture of them preparing to enter one of mazes that leads to a design of the U.S. Capitol, and finally a picture of our boys atop one of the small bridges that the farm has to show people "where they are" in the 28 acres.
We didn't stay too long since we went late in the day but we all plan to go back next year, make a day of it, and enjoy the wonder of such an adventure.

Shen's "tinker" musical talents

Today's meeting with our social worker went very well. Amy was incredibly supportive and gave us some great advice! We will continue to have 6-month and 12-month placement meetings with her.
The next "events" for Shen are next week: His evaluation with the school district that will take place in Mandarin, and the results of his immunization testing from Dr. Ochs.
Today, after Connor got home from school, he and Shen built some "tinker toys" musical instruments. Note the picture attached with this posting of how little man plays his "tinker toy" guitar and sings to his "tinker toy" microphone.
Love to all of you!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Shen's First Workout

This has been an interesting week. We are learning more and more about what "American" foods that Shen likes and dislikes. We are trying to get a handle on his sleeping habits to get the transfer into his own room done in the very near future. Connor has been the ultimate big brother this week, helping Shen in a lot of areas where he easily could have deferred to mom or dad.
Shen has gotten totally involved in all our daily activities. He and Mommy just got back from shopping and he is now unwrapping a new train/fire engine set to play with.
Jodie and I have our first post-placement meeting with our social worker this coming Monday. We are looking forward to seeing Amy Trotter on Monday and getting feedback about the attachment process that Shen, and all of us, are going through.
The attached pictures were really fun to see. I took Shen with me to a workout with my personal trainer this week and Shen just jumped in and wanted to try things out as well. You can see that little man has quite the physique AND the attitude to be a pretty physical guy. God's plan for his future is going to be really fun to watch!!
Enjoy the pictures!
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

Johnny Appleseed Festival

What a great weekend we all had together! Shen continues to adapt to life in the U.S. His English also gets better day by day. He now realizes that "You're welcome," follows "thank you." And, he even follows someone else's sneeze with "God Bless You!"
This weekend we put together a new tricycle for the little man that he just loves. We went swimming, which I think may have been his first time at an indoor pool. He was big-eyed the whole time and loved playing with the small fountains at the pool. I think family time at the pool this winter will be a "hot item" in our household.
The big event of the weekend was the Johnny Appleseed Festival held about 5 miles from our home. Mommy attended an adoption seminar at our church, which we found was EXTREMELY worthwhile! She learned about communicating with children and how communication can sometimes be difficult in the "honeymoon" phase of adoption, yet being aware of "signals" as you get into the 6-month to one-year time period.
But, back to the Johnny Appleseed Festival. It was geared just for the kids and we met a great couple and their son, who are in our Adoption Playgroup. Shen really connected with his new friend Jack (nice name, huh!). I have attached some pictures for you to see. First is Shen with his friend, Jack. Then, you will see Little Man eating his first sweet corn on the cob. He wanted NOTHING to do with "corn on the cob" at first, until he saw his friend Jack eat some. Then, he devoured the sweet corn. The final picture is Shen feeding a small donkey in the petting zoo.
Our family continues to adapt and we thank God for all the blessings bestowed upon us.
We love you all!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

After One Week at Home

We finished the first week at home last night and I have to say that this is one very flexible child. Shen has adapted very well to mommy, Connor, our two cats, our dog, and our lifestyle. He sleeps well, only getting up once in the night for the bathroom, eats extremely well (not picky at all), and creatively plays with his matchbox cars and legos. He has gone shopping with us and had his first "fast food" meal yesterday. Our neighbors have graciously enfolded Shen into their lives as well.
His english seems to getting better day by day, but he will still go into his "storytelling" mode in Chinese with Jodie, Connor and I not having a clue what he is saying. Last night, Shen and Armin (the youngest son next door) ran windsprints together across their sport court. They just kept running back and forth (of course, it was great that Armin let him win all the time). So, the blending of our family continues.
We hope you enjoy some of the pictures attached to this post. You will see Shen doing crafts with his playdough, then sitting in his carseat that our Angel friends, the Osorios gave us (he looks pretty comfortable, don't you think), and then getting a balloon at Trader Joe's last night.
Love,
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

The First Few Days Home

Well, this has been an incredible time for our family. Shen has fit in so well! He is connecting (Big Time) with Jodie and Connor, enjoying the people in our neighborhood, and just getting accustomed to life in America and the Groppel household. We went to church on Sunday and he enjoyed Sunday School. Our neighbors have been incredibly gracious. The Rahn's brought a small stuffed puppy and Disney balloons to Shen, Pastor H.B. stopped by just to give him a quick hug, and everyone has been touching base to check in on the little man.
We took Shen to the Pediatrician today, the one who, on May 20 after looking at Shen's growth/medical records said, "He's a keeper" and then said, "Go get him!" Today, Dr. and patient met. Dr. Ochs felt that Shen was doing great, was very intelligent, and seemed very healthy. There does seem to bit a bit of fluid behind Shen's eardrum's, likely due to the palate and subsequent surgery. We will get him to a specialist later this fall. Then, they wanted all kinds of labwork to meet U.S. immigration standards. So, little man gave it all...blood, urine, and stool samples. They will evaluate EVERYTHING that he is or is not immune to. We need to go back in three weeks to discuss the results.
I am attaching some pictures for you to enjoy. One is from the doctor visit where we had to wait for over 4 hours to see the doctor and get everything done. Shen got bored so, being little Mr. Creativity, he put stickers on himself, his shirt and his shorts (he had a blast and it killed some time :)). The second is of Connor, Shen, and our neighbor's sons, Colin and Armin Ward. We just know that they will all become incredible friends. And, finally, this is the view I saw from behind as Shen and I met Connor coming home from school. Connor took his hand and walked him into the house. You get a great shot of our big 12-year-old guy and our little 3-1/2 year old addition.
Enjoy!! We love you all!
Jack, Jodie, Connor and Shen

WE'RE HOME!!!

We made it home! And, Mommy and Connor are connecting with our Little Man really well. He and I were pretty tired and we both woke up at 2:00 am for about 2 hours this morning before going back to sleep. Don't you just love jet lag!!
As we get acclimated as a family, I want to again thank all of you for your prayers and support during this incredible journey!! I am attaching a picture that I took from the car at the moment that Shen met Mommy and Connor. Do you detect a little "beaming" from everyone?????!!!!
Love to all,
Jack, Mommy, Connor and SHEN