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