Official citizen of the Unites States of America

Hi everyone! I did it! I'm an official citizen of the United States of America!!! I knew if I was a good boy that it would happen. And, boy-o-boy, have I been a GOOD BOY! I have my forever family and I love my life - even with Champ and Harley, those crazy Golden Retrievers. (I never saw anything quite like them in China!)

Celebrate with me and wave the stars and stripes. (Mom, can I still have a Chinese flag in my room? Absolutely, Johnny!)

Things are going so well. We took our first getaway as a family of 6 to Columbus. Johnny was totally at ease with all the people at the COSI museum.

He's been conditioned very well! Madison, Abby and Adam did a load of swimming and the trip was a nice time for all of us.

Just a few pictures!

We've been doing so well! Other than an intestinal bug, Johnny's labs are really good. He's adjusting incredibly well. It seems that he loves it here. I'm sorry I've been so negligent on photos! Hopefully, these will be worth the wait

The kids made a wall of homecoming pictures for our arrival, which hung between the kitchen and family room. Here we are!!!

The girls have been enjoying being the big sister to their littlest brother. Check it out!

By the way - Don't underestimate Abby's mothering instinct by the fact Johnny is sporting only one sock. Keeping his feeties covered is a full-time job these days. He is really enjoying pulling those socks off. We've tried the shoes on game and there are times he'll even get the shoe AND sock off - just to show US who's boss! HA! You cannot see the writing on his shirt in the photo with Abby, but it says, "Made In China".

What a cute little face!

I think "Grand-ma-ma" is super enjoying her new little grandson!Harley is dearling loving being an example of how much fun a dog can be. He's really come a long way. At first he'd paw and compete. Now, he's actually laying down beside Johnny and being a good, calm boy. "That's my Golden!" Notice Champ in the background. He's just a gem. He's taught Harley everything he knows on how to be worth his weight in GOLD. Here is a pic of Adam, too. He's getting used to no longer being the 'youngest boy'. He'll soon be sure once again that Momma and Daddy love him just as much as EVER!

Johnny has realized that when I hold the camera to my eyes that there is going to be a big flash. Accordingly, he's been closing his eyes before the flash even goes off! What a riot! Get a load of those Converse tennies. They are a hand-me-down from his big brother, Adam!

And, one more for the road. This ought to help with those camera flashes! We were told it's hard to fit Asians with glasses due to the bridge of their nose being so flat between their eyes. Well, there you have it. It works!

John's trip to the Cleveland Clinic

Last Wednesday, March 18th, we had John evaluated by the Adoptive program at the Cleveland Clinic. It was a rather long day that included his history, physical, surgical site evaluation and bloodwork. Everything looks great.

When we first got our littlest guy, he barely wanted to roll over. What a difference a few weeks make! Now, he's able to balance in a sitting position with very little intervention! Yeahhhh!!!

Madison, Abby and Adam are really enjoying their new brother. I am incredibly proud of them for taking him in as a part of their family so unselfishly. Johnny presented them with a gift thanking them for their part in making his adoption possible - a Nintendo DS! ("You're welcome, Johnny!!!") Adam may need to join NDSA (Nintendo DS Anonymous).

Johnny and I are home! Actually, we arrived home ~8pm Friday, March 13th (and, I'm only now blogging to tell about it). It was an extremely long 24 hours from Guangzhou, China, to Cleveland, Ohio. BUT, that being said, nobody was sick and we got to FLY - as opposed to the slow boat the poor people had to use in the 'olden' days. I'm grateful.

Mr. Johnny only got about 1 or 2 hours of sleep during the 24 hour stint. You can imagine how out of sorts the poor little guy was. He held it together until the Chicago to Cleveland stint. There were a few delays and when we finally boarded, it was boarding onto a little tuna can with a non-operational bathroom. The pilot said for us to make sure we used the restrooms in the terminal before boarding. Hmmm... Now how do we figure in dirty diapers? HA!

And, boy-o-boy, were there a boatload of dirty diapers!!!

Since being home, we've found Mr. Johnny has joined the "Soy-boy" ranks of formula-fed children. (He and his cousin must get that from their mothers' side of the family!) Prior to the magic of Enfamil ProSobee, our little guy delivered 7-10 soiled diapers PER DAY! If I could do a commercial, Johnny would be the spokesbaby. HA!

"Being on soy has changed my life..."

Mr. Johnny went to the Cleveland Clinic Adoptive Center for a thorough evaluation today. Things went very, very well. We saw a pediatric specialist who evaluated his growth and development and a surgeon who is very familiar with John's birth defect (known as a gastroschesis or 'abdominal cleft') and surgery. Additionally, he and received 5 vaccination injections and had a slew of bloodwork drawn. Our sweet little guy learned he cannot trust everybody in a white coat. The docs and phlebotomists were as sweet as can be, but in the end, needles hurt. I kept reminding myself that the diseases hurt more. (That is Surviving of Motherhood 102.)

The doc said other than some abdominal weakness - which can be expected from laying around in a bed and perhaps from his surgery as an infant - Johnny is doing very well. He has two lower teeth, which we noticed are different sizes even though they should be exact symmetrical teeth. She said they are probably a 'fused tooth' and isn't much to be worried about. She described several exercises for increasing his strength and is excited to see him in a month after being home with us.

The surgeon said, in a nutshell, it's too bad for his family to have abandoned him and it's lucky for us to have adopted such a healthy, happy little boy! Although Johnny is 10% more likely to have an intestinal atresia (blockage or stricture), he is tested and proven. He says that the 1st month is the make-or-break when it comes to a gastroschisis repair. And, the fact that he survived in an orphanage speaks volumes. And, by the way, the surgeon said there is absolutely nothing we can do to change his odds of atresia. He said it could happen when he's 20 or 80 years old, tomorrow or not at all. It's just an artifact of the scar tissue and adhesions that happen with surgeries such as his.

He said, "Don't worry. ENJOY him!"

And, that we will. We're thrilled to have adopted such a special little boy...our special little child who was "Made In China".

Hi All!

Our China leg of this journey has almost come to an end. I miss being with my whole family desperately! And, I'm looking so forward to establishing our 'new normal'!

Today we went to the American embassy to 'swear-in' that our adoption contained all true information, etc. etc.. It was really neat. Johnny is now officially ours. There were about 60 families, many of which had adopted 2, 3 and 4 children from China! After the oath we were issued the kids' visas. (We needed visas to enter China, and Johnny will need this visa to enter the USA.) He will receive his documentation of citizenship in about a month.

The families are running last minute errands and picking up souvenirs. Mr. Johnny is snoozing, so I'm just blogging. HA! Keep our safety for travel home in your prayers. It's an extremely long 24 hours for us...if all goes as planned. We are flying Guangzhou, China, to Tokyo, Japan, to Chicago, IL, to Cleveland, OH.

Just writing Cleveland, I sigh. :-)

I MISS HOME SWEET HOME!

Love you all! And, as Mickey Mouse would say,

"See you real soon!"

The Guang dong Museum of Folk Handicrafts

Temperature: High 63 Low61 - Cloudy (Dan, I see via weather.com it isn't easy bringing the dogs back to the warm, rainy, MUDDY 3007 Rainbow Lane! Good luck with Champ and Harley-Man!)

By the way, if you are wondering about the time change, Guangzhou, China, is 13 hours ahead of Cleveland, Ohio. So, I am typing away here at 2pm and you are, hopefully, snuggly in bed at 1am. (Which reminds me...Madison and Abby - are you finished with all your homework? Tee heeee!)

It's another nice day in China. We spent the morning on a tour of the Guang dong Museum of Folk Handicrafts. I have to admit, I was thinking I would rather hang out in the hotel, as Johnny slept in this morning. But, I stayed true to my reason to be here - to learn and experience as much of John's homeland as possible! How could I refuse another walk with our new son and brother? "Let's go!!!"

There was a great gift shop here, and I did some mild monetary damage. Hey, to have souvenirs, I gotta spend some money. Within the shop, we had a little tea party. They served oolong and jasmine teas. I especially enjoyed the jasmine tea, so I bought a few 'pods' of it. It's rather cool (should have taken a picture...) because they plunk a pod into a pot of boiling water and it more or less 'blooms' within the pot. A flower comes out and everything! Here is a shot of Mr. Zhou - our fearless leader from the adoption center - distributing the tea.

Along with selling great stuff, the museum itself had amazingly beautiful, carved features along the rooflines and walls themselves. Hopefully, you are able to click on these pictures and zoom-in. A photo really doesn't do this justice!

There were gardens and galleries. Fortunately, we only had an hour and my ability to cause too much 'monetary' damage was limited!

On our way back we grabbed some food at McDonald's. (Adam, buddy, I got a Spider Man action figure for you. It's not the same one as yours that lost it's head, but I'm sure you'll like it!) Little did I know I ordered a children's happy meal. I just thought I was getting a cheeseburger, but I guess I pointed to the Chinese word for happy meal!!! Oops!

I had to post this adorable little picture of one of the 2-1/2 year old adopted little girls trying to eat some type of noodle dish with some chopsticks. This is Quinn. From what I understand when the family brought her to her first breakfast, she grabbed two spoons and tried to use the 'non-spoon ends' as chopsticks! How darling is that???

All these kids are darling! Come to think of it, Dan, are you at all interested in doing this again? I think Madison, Abby, Adam and Johnny need another sibling! (As Adam would say, "HA! Juuuuust trickin!")

At that I'll close. Madison, this one is for you. Just think "Mufasa" from "The Lion King".

And, Abbykins, this one is for you! I love you guys more than life itself.

Johnny's first birthday is today!

Happy 1st Birthday, John Wei Stumbaugh!!!

It's March 8th, 2009. What a special day in little Johnny's life! Although Daddy had to kiss him good-bye and board a plane, we were, indeed together to celebrate this sweet day in our 1-year old's life. (Madison, Abby and Adam - how would you like to celebrate?)

So, what did we have planned for his big day? Mr. Zhou (pictured above) has planned a trip to the Guangzhou Zoo!

The weather was gloomy, but in no way did it dampen our spirits! The animals much preferred the 50+ degree misty weather to the summer zoo trips we've taken in the past. We have to shoot for the cloudy, cooler days from here on out!

The "funniest" animal of the day award was a slam dunk. It was a CAMEL that one of the young daughters said "had a broken hump". Poor guy! Granted, HE didn't think it was so funny, but our group did!

The "most affectionate" animal(s) of the day award was also quite obvious. (Adam, this one is for YOU, buddy!) It was the HIPPOS! For any of you wondering if there is such a thing as hippo amor, "Love was in the air"!!! Check the kissin' couple. I think I may have heard them say, "Could we have a little privacy, please?" But, it was in Chinese, so I'm not 100% sure.

There were so many photo-ops at the zoo. And, it's a good thing one of our adoptive parents brought along two digital cameras, as our camera had obviously seen better days. After taking 3-4 pictures at the front gate, the camera displayed "card reader error". Now, I could complain about the timing, but I won't. I would have been devastated had we gotten that error the day we took the trip to Johnny's orphanage - so, praise God! Thanks to the generosity of "Linda and Steve" parents of Abby and Ana, we placed my memory card into their "extra" camera and didn't miss a beat. They will download all the pics, and I can take the the memory card home with me to keep.

So, a few notes of praise to my vast mothering experience. Yep. Big pats on the back. I mean, Johnny has to be the luckiest guy here with me at his side! Yesterday, while doing some paperwork for the embassy appointment on the 11th, Dan struggled with his newest son. He tried everything to get him to sleep - which Mr. Johnny desperately needed. But, I have to point out that Daddy's efforts were to NO avail.

"Have you given him a bottle?"

"Yes, he doesn't want it!"

"How did you make it?"

...details given...cold?...warm?...jostled?, wrapped?, unwrapped?...etc...etc...

"Maybe he just needs to cry it out."

15 minutes later he's still wailing. I mean, Johnny is WAILING!!!

Then, an angel knocked at the door. Tracie is an adoptive mom who offered to give us her Enfamil and rice cereal earlier in the day. She thought her new daughter may have some allergies and no longer needed her stash from the states.

What the heck, I thought to myself. He's OBVIOUSLY not HUNGRY (we'd tried his bottle several times), but maybe he'll TRY some of this. What IS this? Hamburger flavored rice cereal???

JACKPOT! "Mommy, I was trying to tell you I'm STARVING for some FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

It is a good thing it appears that Johnny is a very forgiving baby. That kid DEVOURED the cereal and I had to make two more portions before he started slowing down!

So much for my vast experience. (I think I hear you laughing at me.) OK, it IS kinda funny. But, cut me some slack - did any of YOU know that Chinese babies need to eat, too?

Madison, Abby and Adam - I MISS YOU SOOOO MUCH. Aunt Barb tells us you are being so helpful and well behaved. I keep saying it, but I hope you know how much we love you and how proud we are of you. You've worked so hard to make this happen. Abby, I hope your eyedrops are going well and your pink-eye is clearing up. Thanks, Pup, for getting her to the doctor.

I MISS YOU SOOOO MUCH. :-)