~ One Year Ago Tomorrow ~

I hadnt realized so much time has passed! Time sure flies when you are having fun I guess :) My mind has been wandering back to what happened one year ago tomorrow. I was united with my son in China! Hard to believe it has been such a short time. I clearly remember the day that he came to me. He was scared and puckered up at me for the first few hours really trying to hold back tears. Then he realized the all was good and he just jabbered away non stop. Honestly, I have no idea what he was telling me but believe he was telling me stories about himself. The first few moments he would not let me touch him and kept bouncing from chair to chair at the Civil Affairs Office. In the van on the way home he kept looking at me with big puppy dog puddled eyes his little hands in his lap. Now, that trip to Wal Mart when he got to pick out new sandles and a toy did it for him. He was good at that point!

Since coming home, we have made incredible strides both medically and emotionally. Medically, Quinn seems to be doing very well and has adjusted to American medicine and likes his Hematologist. He has a very rare platelet disorder called Glanzmanns's Thrombasthenia so he bleeds tsunami's. He has infusions of platelets and Factor VII (NovoSeven) depending on the type of bleed he is having, etc. He does well with all and just takes it in stride. He wants me to do everything for him other than stick him with a needle. Which, I will be doing soon. He said he is ok with that too and he trusts me!

Emotionally, we have made some great leaps but still have some work to do! It is hard for him when he misses China so much. However, having Ming and Juan in the US has been a blessing for him. Now that he is back in school he has less time to think and has improved his moral a bit also. All in all I am very proud of my little prince!

Quinn has became quite the little fisherman and his Daddy says he shows great potential as a Professional Fisherman one day! He loves this sport and will be sad to see the cold weather set in on him. Unfortuately, he doenst handle the cold weather well so he will be limited on his time in the boat.

This summer Quinn and his sisters took Swimming Lessons. The girls did rather well... Quinn on the other hand seemed to be like a "rock". So, I think that he will need some more guidance in this area. Hopefully, this winter we will be able to take some more classes and occupy ourselves during those cool months. He is such a good sport about it and really enjoys the water. When he came to me this is what he asked me for "could I teach him how to swim"! Very simple request out of a little fellow!

Two weeks ago we went to court to finalize Quinn's adoption in the US. He arrived home on an IR-4 Visa because Daddy and Janie couldnt travel with us due to the passing of Uncle Brian. It seemed to be such a long but simple process. I had all of the information and filed the case my self. However, the court appointed Guardian did not like the fact that I didnt have an attorney, so we had to hire our friend to go to court with us! Just glad that is all finalized. Now, I have to complete the remainder of the paperwork and apply for his SSN, Birth Certificate, Passport and Certificate of Citizenship. Whew!