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My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

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First Day of Vacation

6.28.10

Well, Lydia’s case of Hand Foot Mouth coupled with Drew telling us his “brain hurt” at church which led to him running a temperature as well did not lend itself to good vacation preparations. But, we managed to get everything (almost everything. Mark says packing for a family vacation is more like moving) together and in the van. Not 20 minutes into the ride, Drew threw up (though me, super mom, saved the day by getting it all in a ziploc bag. Mark, happily driving, didn’t even know Drew threw up!). But, regardless, it actually turned out to be one of our better trips in the car. Drew does seem to have a very mild case of Hand Foot Mouth himself–but it isn’t stopping him one bit really. He had a temp still last night, but tylenol brings it right down and he’s eating and playing normally (well, normal for Drew!). Lydia is ions better than she was and is eating more and taking her bottles. AND, she slept through the night last night for 12 hours. Phew!

So, off to the beach we went this morning to show Lyds sand for the first time. She surprised us all by really enjoying the sand…perhaps a little more than we would have liked.

Right after I took this one on Mark’s Blackberry (no way I’m taking my good Canon out in the sand!), Lydia put a dead sand crab covered in sand in her mouth and started to chomp down. Perhaps it reminded her of Chinese cuisine like fried scorpions? Ick!

Though crab and sand eating she did without a second thought, she wasn’t so keen on the water. Perhaps the fact that it felt like ice water had something to do with it. But, she did seem a bit scared of the crashing waves. Maybe by the end of the week, she’ll be a regular beach bum.

Ash, Evan, and Drew loved showing her everything on the beach: “Look, Lyds, Look Lyds, this is a shovel. You do this with it.” Now, Lydia is sleeping and the other 3 are watching a movie in their bedroom. I’m finishing this post and looking forward to a nap while Mark starts Prodigal God. Bet he’ll be asleep within 30 minutes–no offense to Tim Keller. 

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: daily life, Lydia

Jiayin Designs–New Things!

6.21.10

I just updated the website Jiayin Designs with two new items Helen is offering for a limited time. Please check these out!

Aren’t these pearls beautiful? I have a white set for Ashlyn and a blush set for Lydia. The little sterling silver ladybug clasp is so darling. Ladybugs symbolize good luck in various places around the world. Specifically in China, tradition holds that if a ladybug is caught and released, it will faithfully fly to your true love and whisper your name in his or her ear. Upon hearing the ladybug’s message, your true love will hurry to your side. Perhaps that tradition is how it became a symbol for Chinese adoptions. 
And, I just love this tiger-head hat. These hats traditionally were given to children to imply a prayer of blessing for the child as well as a celebration of the child’s beauty and vigor. The tradition is dying out now in modern cities in China. So, I’m really excited to have one for Lydia. Each one is handmade and is unique in its color and design. And, it looks adorable on Miss Lydia!

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: Jiayin Designs, Lydia

dedicated to Him

6.16.10


As spoken at Lydia’s dedication on Sunday at church:
The Lord has entrusted her to us 
so that we may guide and direct her in the love of the Lord.


We covenanted to dedicate ourselves as parents to bringing up Lydia Mei in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And, we publicly confessed our desire that by precept and example, Lydia would see the radiance of Christ in us and when she becomes of age, that she would receive Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

It was an emotional and tender moment for me. We had already dedicated her to the Lord. But, doing so publicly and having the congregation stand in a commitment to help us raise her to His glory–it was a humbling moment for me as a parent. I feel unworthy and ill equipped for the task that He has given to us to raise these 4 children who lay asleep on the floor above me as I type right now. May He grow me, change me, mold me for the task before me.

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: Lydia, parenthood

EncycloLydia

6.11.10


Lydia is 15 months old today! So, it’s time for a little EncycloLydia. She can say “bye” (sort of) and “uh oh.” She also says “muh muh muh” when she wants something. She walks and runs and does a mean knee-bending dance whenever she hears music.

She’s got 4 front teeth and both of her upper cuspids are just breaking through (I had to google names of teeth to come up with that one, by the way). When we were in Guangzhou, China, she weighed just under 16 lbs. At her last appointment, she weighed over 17 1/2 lbs. In less than 8 weeks, she gained 1 3/4 lbs–remarkable really since a child between 12-24 mo. typically gains 3-5 lb. in a whole year (googled that too).

She loves my car keys, the telephone, and any little thing she can hold onto that is not a toy. She also loves climbing in the frig and stealing the utensil holder from the dishwasher.


Climbing stairs has also become a favorite activity. She turns into a crazy mermaid in the bath, flopping around everywhere when we turn the water on. She loves eggs, any fruit, and any noodles with tomato sauce. And, she loves ice cubes. She still takes 4 bottles a day, 8 oz. of soy formula each (hence why she’s gaining weight).

She still has the hole in her heart (VSD) that she was diagnosed with as an infant. But, we’re fairly sure she won’t need any surgical intervention to repair it. Yea! She did fail her hearing test last week though. So, we have an ENT appointment scheduled for July and are prepared for them to tell us she needs tubes in her ears. And, as you can see, she gets PLENTY of attention around here–from her family and others (she was quite a distraction at Evan’s field day on Tuesday. Don’t worry. I didn’t let her get too overwhelmed by the admirers.).

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Posted by Kelly the Overthinker
Filed Under: Lydia

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I overthink everything. This blog is a prime example. Make yourself a cup of coffee and sit down for a read. Actually, make that a pot of coffee. There’s a lot of overthinking here.

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