Happy 3rd Birthday, Samuel!!!

We are truly blessed!  Samuel had a wonderful first birthday with his new family.  He grinned from ear to ear most of the day.  He woke up to the birthday song which he found quite amusing.  By the end of the day, he was singing it too!  He went out to eat lunch with his Mommy and Daddy- Corn dog de jour with papas fritas (french fries),  a lollipop complete with a helium balloon attached to bounce all over the table, and a giant chocolate cupcake with hot fudge sauce and whipped cream.  He got a kick out of the singing waiters.  By the end of the song,  the entire restaurant knew it was his first birthday with a family.  They all oohed and aahed over him.  
As if that wasn't enough, he came home and he and his older siblings all played in his new "baby pool" which he thought was totally the best thing ever!  His lips were blue and he was shivering , but he had a ton of fun.  Then, we commenced to a Chinese dinner with chow mein, egg rolls, and rotisserie chicken followed by bing-ja-ling (Chinese for ice cream) and Lightning McQueen cake which he absolutely wanted to dive into head first.  We all had as much fun watching him as he did have fun playing.  He received some new Thomas the Tank toys , bubble toys, and pool toys for his birthday.  So-he is set!  We just need a new bathing suit that actually fits him now!
The day ended with him lying in his crib singing "Happy Birthday" to himself. I think he understands the whole process.
He is too sweet for words and we all are truly blessed to have this cute little boy (and his older foster brother- Timothy) in our lives. Not to mention, the 5 older siblings who " rock our world " on a daily basis. 
Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Kristin and Marcus

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with her
I played pretend you’d chosen me.

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took my hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I’m almost six!
And there are infants here you see?
But then you kissed me and I knew
The child you chose this time was me.

~ Debbie Bodie, The Waiting Child

We have officially been home 2 weeks now with Samuel (2 years) and Timothy (5 1/2 years like the little child in the poem)!  We feel blessed beyond comprehension.  They are wonderful, smiling, (at times) mischievious little boys! They are so thrilled to have a family.  We are so blessed to finally welcome them home! Life is much busier for us with the addition of 2 at one time to make a total of 7 kiddos.  Marcus and I NEVER sit down to chill out anymore because they are full speed ahead.  Plus, they really need the attention, love, cuddling, and support of their new parents so they can feel connected and emotionally safe right now.

I cannot imagine what their life would have been like if they had not been chosen.  Marcus and I will admit that initially it was quite hard on Timothy.  We are his 4th living situation change in his short 5 years of life (orphanage, group foster home, foster family, then us).  He spent his first 3 years of life in an orphanage (hundreds of kids) rolling around in a walker (unrepaired spina bifida) until he was brought to the most fantastic and caring foster home called New Day Foster Home in Beijing. His eyes and face from those early photos speak extreme sadness. He was vacant! You can only cry so much without someone to hear you before you just stop crying at all. Silence in an orphaned child typically means there was no one to respond to their cries so they just cease trying. How sad!  I think as a biological parent as well it can sometimes be difficult to understand (if you haven't adopted )what emotional pain these little kids must go through.  There is no "loved from the moment of conception" thought process.  No immediate bonding with a mother immediately after the birth when they place the sweet baby in your lap for its first hug, kiss, feeding, etc. Many are abandoned at the steps of an orphanage to be discovered by passerbys.  Abandoned for many reasons, I'm sure. But, the main reason is their lack of a healthy body.  When we sit back and think about it, who will/ would step forward to care for a child who is broken - broken hearted, mid thoracic spina bifia, right lower limb deformity, scoliosis (just to name a few), hydrocephalus, urologic deformity? What if more of us did?  There would be less orphans in this world. Certainly, more of the world would be aware of how truly wonderful special needs kids are.

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

James 1:27

"Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families."

Psalms 68:5-6

But, the honest truth, is we are loved by them.  Despite their imperfections, they are "perfect" for us and we absolutely love and adore them.  They giggle, laugh, play, and eat cookies like any other normal child. We are the blessed ones! Timothy is the creator of Legos, the puzzle builder, the expert computer navigator, Daddy's boy, and the most bilingual 5 year old we've ever met.  Samuel is the life of the party, Cheerio gobbler, top Lightning McQueen fan, Momma's boy, and fastest most top heavy 2 year old we've ever met (always a smile!)!

To say, we are having a blast with them is an understatement.  We have tons of stories to tell, but I shall save them for a future post as they are calling my name......



Run as fast as you can for Mama!




Our first family picture taken by my mother (Mamalita)




All 7 kids together!




Baba and Timothy having a tickle moment!




Grace having a crazy hair moment with Lea (her friend who was adopted recently by the most wonderful family ever!)




Finalization day in Guangzhou!



Blessings,

Kristin and Marcus

Haley, Luke, Grace, Eli, Tai, Timothy, and Samuel
P.S. We have lots of subspecialty appointments in the next 6 weeks so pray for us.

Hola, fellow blog followers!  I know you guys are itching to hear something of my brothers.  Yes, that's correct; unfortunately I'm not my mom Kristin. This is Haley, the eldest daughter.  Although she's fantabulous, my parents could not access their blog in China and, thus, are unable to post the blogs.  For the time being, they are going to be sending the updates (pix and info) through email.  Once they come back on the 17th, they'll begin to post on the blog about Parsley going-ons.  But, for now, I can send your emails to my parents so that you can receive their updates.  Please let me know by commenting on this post.  I don't want to be sending your emails to them without your knowledge.  If you are following this blog of your own accord and haven't officially "joined this site", also comment below.  Thanks so much for your interest and I apologize for the inconvenience.  Timothy and Samuel are a blessing...happy as larks.  They arrived safely to my parents and little sis Grace.  Mom and Grace have Samuel in Hohhot.  Dad has Timothy in his own province...northern China, I believe.  I'm unsure of the exact name of the province.  Please let me know!  Adios!  

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.” ~ Deepak Chopra

I loved the saying above because I think it perfectly suits the adoption of our two new little "spices." There are millions of orphans around the world who literally wait years for families to choose them.  Just think of the futures they could create if given the chance to have a family and experience the hugs, kisses, bedtime stories, birthdays (there's something we don't think about- what would we do if no one celebrated our birth each year?), night time baths, family suppers, scootering in the driveway with their siblings, graduations, awards, soccer games....... just to name a few! Often times, the mere fact that they have disabilities is a challenging thought for most families.  I can remember many people saying (including ourselves) when we were "expecting"- creating wish lists of .....a happy "healthy" boy or girl.  Somewhere along the way Marcus and I discovered that the perfect child for us did not have to be a "perfect" child (who of us is perfect anyways?) but more the child who was "perfect" for our family.  We hold a special place in our hearts for the kiddos with neurosurgical issues to contend with.  You can't imagine the joy we have found in the little successes in life we have experienced with Tai.  And, believe me, Marcus and I have heard it all from Tai's doctors early on before they really "knew" him.  Everything from..... he is deaf, he will have significant cognitive issues, he'll never have the mobility of other children (he has high C-spine spina bifida at the level of Christopher Reeves- remember that means can't walk or move your arms).  We decided we would set our own bars for Tai and see what he could achieve instead of limiting his possibilities.  Guess what?  He is a normal 1st grader making good grades, he runs, he climbs, he feeds himself with chopsticks (what limited mobility were they talking about?), he can hear EVERY little thing you say even in a whisper.....Therefore, we know now that each child can determine their possibilities and their futures.  We will not limit them.  We can provide the love and support they need to attain their goals, whether big or small.


Sam and his trusty penguin- It looks like they are kissing each other.




Timothy flying a kite.




Tai dunking a basket at 8 AM in the morning!

 So, the sky's the limit Timothy and Samuel.  We can't wait to hold you and let you know the love of a family!  See you in a week and a half!

The dates are set!

Woo-hoo! We finally have dates for travel set to pick up our new little boys in China.  Finally, after mounds of paperwork and immigration stuff, the day has been chosen.  We will fly to China on February 1st arriving there the evening of the 2nd in China (which is the morning of the 2nd here in the U.S.).  Long flight with likely lots of jet lag! We spend 2 days in Beijing touring the sites- Great Wall, Forbidden City (sounds tantalizing!), Tiannamen Square, and the Hutong tour.  We were not able to do this with Tai so this shall be a big treat for all of us.Then, Grace and I fly to Hohhot to hug and squeeze on Samuel. Marcus takes a train to Taiyuan, Shanxi province to pick up Timothy.  So, Gotcha Day is officially February 6th. We spend 5 1/2 days in the respective provinces with our new little guys then will fly to Guangzhou where we can rejoin with one another for the next week.  This is where we have our U.S. Consulate appt on the 15th of February to make it OFFICIAL!  Samuel and Timothy will become spices like the rest of us. Samuel's full name will be Samuel Longdui Parsley and Timothy's full name is Timothy Huanglu Parsley. We kept both of their Chinese first and middle names (but combined) and made them their middle names. Samuel's name means "right dragon".  Given this is the Year of the Dragon for Chinese New Year,  it does seem quite appropriate for him.  The post on New Day's facebook wall today showed an adorable face picture of Samuel.  Someone posted a comment saying, "all he needs is family to hold him.....".  We are on our way!
Timothy's name means "yellow jade" which means he will be a jewel to us I'm sure! Timothy adores Thomas the Tank and Samuel loves Cars (any kind of car).  Therefore, we have ordered them mini backpacks of Thomas and Lightning McQueen to give them when we get to China filled with little toys and coloring books. Can't wait!
The other kids are all excited about the upcoming arrival. Eli and Tai will have 2 new roommates so their room will be like a college dorm with 4 boys.  They will never fall asleep at night with the constant chatter!
I am attaching a few new pictures of all of our kids for you guys to see!  Feel free to follow our journey.
On another note, Eli and Grace have started piano lessons and are really enjoying it.  They have long piano fingers so they should be great!  Grace made the varsity middle school soccer team as a "starter" in her first year at the middle school.  She is having a wonderful time getting to know her teammates.  They won their first game.  Haley has narrowed her college choices down to her top 3 and will decide likely in April where she is going.  Luke and Tai are keeping busy as well. 
Love,
Kristin and Marcus


The Parsley girls!




Eli thinking of what he can do next!




Luke dreaming of fishing and girls!




Tai dreaming of fudge and cookies.




Grace dreaming of soccer and swimming!



Haley dreaming of college next year!

The Parsley Boys!

Samuel and his cute self!



Timothy dreaming of a warmer Florida!



J. C. is in the house!!! And Travel Approval!!

All in a matter of the last 18 hours- 2 major events have happened.  First,  I was finally able to achieve an item on my bucket list.  No, I am not about to kick the bucket.  At least, I hope not! I have wanted to meet Jimmy Carter ever since I was about 6 years old.  I thought he was the best thing since "peanut" butter.  Pun intended- he is from South Georgia where they grow peanuts. Anyways, for our 19th anniversary this year, Marcus scheduled a weekend in Plains and Americus, Georgia at a the Americus Garden Bed and Breakfast followed the next morning by a trip to Maranatha Baptist Church to see Jimmy Carter teach Sunday School class.  He (I mean Jimmy Carter, but Marcus is pretty cool, too! Ha) was so amazing and down to earth.  He is humble and gracious.  Oh my goodness, I've always respected his humanitarian rights activist work, but to meet him in person and see how genuine he is was quite incredible! He is has such strong moral convictions.  No wonder he couldn't survive 2 terms in the White House.  He was too moral for our political system. You can see the pictures below.  I also will have enlargements made for my house, my 2 offices, parents, and any friends and family that would like to see! Ha! 
Jimmy Carter is 87 years old so those of you who would like to add this item to your bucket list should go soon.  Though, he is in great shape.  After teaching Sunday School yesterday, he was flying to Egypt to help moderate their democratic elections for the week through his democracy work at the Carter Center.   I don't know too many people approaching 90 years old could keep up with him.  Must be the peanuts and the good Southern cookin'!

The next big , huge, magnanimous item that occured was that Marcus and I received TA- Travel Approval from China at 5: 15 PM today.  That means in about 3 weeks (right after Chinese New Year) we will be going to China to adopt Timothy and Samuel officially!  Now, we have to get packing!  Hope we can bring it all together in time! The last picture above is when the kids decorated our annual gingerbread house this holiday season!

Merry Christmas to everyone with our BIG announcement!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

We have officially arrived back in the South as of late summer this year.  We never realized quite how much we actually sweat in the South until we lived out West for a few years running in the dry weather and not having to immediately change your drenched clothing because you felt like you had just been to a “smelly” water park in your street clothes.  Ha! In fact, you could even place your running clothes back in the drawer because they were good for at least one more run. Needless to say, with a house full of 3 teenagers who sweat more than the average adult, not to mention the 2 younger kids and Marcus and I, we do A LOT more laundry! We finally purchased a house this year. But, it does feel nice to actually be able to paint the walls if we want to for the first time in years! The house we bought is 2000 square feet SMALLER than our previous ones so it is a tight squeeze, especially in light of our big news!

As many of you know, our youngest son, Tai, is adopted (we like the word “chosen” better) from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.  We had prayerfully considered for years adopting another child from Inner Mongolia and decided to see if we could find a child who was from Inner Mongolia in the same foster home program as Tai (New Day Foster Home) with similar special needs.  Tough fit as there are very few children adopted out of Inner Mongolia!  We were ultimately matched with a 2 year old little boy, Samuel, with shunted hydrocephalus and asthma.  He is absolutely precious!  We have received pictures and videos.  He is a 100% active 2-year-old!  Marcus and I hope we are not too old to chase a 2 year old around the house again.  But, we better get ready!  He is everywhere and he loves CARS like no other child I’ve ever seen.  He walks around with a car in each hand all of the time.  When he is not walking around with cars, he is toting around the penguin we gave him as his trusty mate.  He speaks really good Chinese for a 2 year old- so we’ve been told……I guess I wouldn’t know because all 2 year old seem to speak Chinese…..right?! He is tall for his age and likely to pass all of us ultimately as his gene pool creates people like Yao Ming, the basketball player.

Well, the story does not end here.  The agency after we had matched with Samuel asked us if we would consider his foster brother, Timothy. They sent pictures and a video as well.  What’s that Tom Cruise movie where the girl says, “You had me at hello.”  Well, they had us at the video!  We were sunk (and so is our bank account as international adoptions are quite expensive)!  Timothy has waited 5 years for a family to choose him.  He is 5 ½ years old with sacral spina bifida and a right club foot. He can walk but does require an HKAFO brace (in layman terms- a brace from his hip to his foot on the right side).  He is a brilliant 5 year old who can already count to 200 in Chinese and knows lots of pinyin (the Chinese written language).  We figure he will also dominate in math and science with his Asian genes!  He tells us he does not like sports, but likes to pick flowers instead!  Sorry, Marcus…. He loves puzzles and Thomas the Tank choo-choo trains! His favorite food is tomatoes! What child chooses that as their favorite food- I guess a non-American who hasn’t been exposed to McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A quite yet? Maybe I will have a vegetable lover after all in the family! Haley tells me when she goes to college next year that vegetables are exiting her diet.  She’s a meat-a-tarian! Timothy is the exact same size as Tai but on the thinner side. Samuel is ONLY 2 inches shorter than Tai or Timothy and his is 3-4 years younger than they are.  Needless to say, we can dress them as triplets and get lots of questions from onlookers.  We’ve not had twins or triplets before so we should play it up. Both Timothy and Samuel are at New Day Foster Home outside of Beijing.  You can google it and see lots of pictures in their scrapbook section and on their blog page.  We are so thankful that they will finally have a mother and a father, and likewise, we know we will truly be even more blessed as a family! Our journey to go to China to bring them home will be in late winter. We are so excited!