The Double Happiness "challenge" this week is a Any Photo With a Pumpkin. These are photos that were on the blog last year, but I really like them. I posted Kai's trip to the pumpkin farm already, so I wanted to feature Kai's brother Ben. Ben won't even know this is on here unless someone tells him, so I can put up just about anything about him. Ben's having a really good year at school so far, he is a high school sophomore. He also just recently started his first "real" job at the Sportsplex as a Skate-guard. He is going to get his license soon, and is greatly admired by his little brother Kai.
This is a picture of him carving our jack-o-lanterns last year. He's wearing the tye-die t-shirt his mom made him and his own hemp jewelry. The pumpkin designs are a peace sign and aum.

Last week Tina and I took Kai and Ben on a family vacation trip. Cam stayed home to work, he looked after the house and took care of the dog for us while we while we were gone.
We really didn't have room in the budget this year for a real vacation, but my sister Kris and her husband Mark invited us to join them and their two boys at a cabin they rented on Priest Lake in northern Idaho. This is a beautiful lake, and while it is becoming more and more popular, there's still a lot of it that is wild and undeveloped. The weather was perfect and the cabin was great; there was lots of room for all of us.
Kai loved going for boat rides with his Uncle Mark and even rode a jet-ski with him!

I will write more about this trip soon, but wanted to get this slideshow online now...

Saturday was a blast. We spent the day with my mom, sister, niece and nephews at a really great park in Everett. It's called Jetty Island.

It's still "Cameron Week" here at Hui-Hui's world. High school graduation, recitals, parties, etc. It's been a bit tough on Kai sharing center stage, but he's held up pretty well.
Tina and I are holding up pretty well too. It's been an emotional but fun time. Now to show off a bit more of Cam. I have two video clips that show a bit of his musical versatility. These were both filmed this weekend. The first one is the first piece he played at his senior violin recital. This is at his violin teacher's house. Cam has taken lesson with her since he was six. The second clip is of him playing with his funk combo "The Endeavors". This one was shot at a party at his girlfriend's house. I love both these pieces...

Cameron is graduating from High School today.

He just turned 18 about 6 weeks ago. Hard to believe really, as it seems it couldn't have been much before that when he was just born. But it has been 18 years, and now he is leaving behind the safety and security of childhood and is taking his first steps out into the adult world. He's not moving out tomorrow, and the change doesn't happen all at once. But it is really happening, and today is one of those days when you stop and take note; a day you publicly say, "this is a point of change."

This is a real graduation. It's not preschool graduation, it's not kindergarten graduation or middle-school graduation. I can appreciate people wanting to observe those moments too, but I don't feel they are "real" points of demarcation. High School Graduation, in my mind, is THE big one. It is at this point when a person must begin making real decisions about their life. Parents can still offer advice, and may influence their decisions through various means, but ultimately the child has now crossed a threshold and has taken on true control of their fate.

Cam is our oldest son, the first child Tina and I brought into our lives. He's the one who paved the way for Ben and Kai, the one who first showed us how to be a parent. He continues to teach us even now, as we move through this new phase in our relationship. Tina and I both love Cameron very much. He is a gentle person who thinks deeply about things. He is talented musically and artistically. He works hard on the things he cares about and is self-motivated. I feel deeply blessed to be able to call him my son. I am so impressed by the many things he has achieved over the last 18 years, and look forward to seeing him move on to a bright and exciting future.

This is a short slideshow of Cam over the years...

We had Tina's dad here with us for a few days last week, which was nice. Kai had only met Grampa twice before and both of those times were when we visited at Grampa's house, but he remembered him and was very playful and affectionate. Tina's dad had flown over to our side of the state to attend a memorial service for one of his best friends. I had a work thing down in Seattle, so Tina had to drive her dad down for the service; a 2+ hour drive through Seattle pretty much during rush hour, with Kai. She was pretty stressed out about how this was going to go, but ended up having a good time. Kai was a little trooper and held up great for the whole day.

Our middle son, Ben, is taking driver's ed. now, so I have been taking him out for driving practice. We have two vehicles to choose from, a beater '94 white Dodge Caravan, and a bright yellow '99 5 speed New Beetle.

The Caravan is the obvious choice to take a student driver out in for his first run, but where's the fun in that? When Cam learned to drive I let him try the Beetle. He had a pretty hard time with it, and we ended up putting it aside indefinitely. Last year Cam's summer job was about 15 miles from home and he really needed his own car, so we helped him buy an '85 Jetta. It's not the hottest ride on the road but it's been very reliable; and it's a manual tranny, so Cam did ultimately learn to master this skill. Ben really wanted to try the Bug, and I figured there's no harm in it. We went out a couple evenings last week and drove around through the cul de sacs of our neighborhood. He actually did quite well, but I think we'll go back to the Caravan until he gets a few more hours in behind the wheel. There's a whole lot going on outside the car you have to keep track of without having to think about shifting. All in all Ben shows signs of being a really good driver.

Cameron has been working hard on finishing up his senior culminating project (a graduation requirement). For part of this project he created an art piece and donated it to Love Without Boundaries 3rd Annual Born in My Heart Art Auction. (<--click to view the webpage) The Auction was created to raise funds for essential life-saving heart surgeries for orphaned children in China.

The piece is done in Lyra watercolor pencil,
matted under glass with a simple wood frame.

Kai has a "gesture" he does which we call "pray to Buddha". He was doing it when we were in China and Ben was the one who named it. He got Kai trained to do it on command. Over the last few months we haven't prompted him for it, but he'll still occasionally do it. It consists of him putting his hands together, raising them up and down in front of him while "singing". When he saw Cam's finished piece he did it spontaneously. I had to ask him to do it again for the camera...

Cam and Ben both attended the local Waldorf school through grade 8. Now they both attend a public high school. They have a special bond with their fellow alumni of the Waldorf school through which they obtained the following piece of writing

You know you’ve been a child of Waldorf when…

1. You know pencil shavings make everything prettier.
2. You rip your pants and instead of throwing them away, you whip out thread and a needle and fix them.
3. Faeries and gnomes were your childhood friends.
4. There’s no need to research the dating history of your boyfriend/girlfriend, you know everyone they’ve dated.
5. Knitting is not a just a new trend – you’ve done it since first grade.
6. You’ve made socks, hats, potholders, flute cases stuffed animals, and sewn your own clothes.
7. As you kiss your boyfriend/girlfriend, you realize it is like kissing a sibling… you break up.
8. It doesn’t seem weird to have the same teacher for eight years.
9. You can never escape your ex… they’ll probably date your best friend.
10. Tie-dye was part of your dress code as a child.
11. At least one of your woman teachers doesn’t shave.
12. You’ve dyed your hair an unnatural color at least once… or wondered what you would look like with purple hair.
13. You’ve held hands and skipped around a pole, and no one thought it was weird.
14. You’ve lived in a house without a TV at some point.
15. You can spell out words with your arms… no need for the finger.
16. You have eurythmy shoes lying around your house.
17. You’ve worn a eurythmy gown.
18. You know what eurythmy is.
19. You’ve had a crush on all the guys/girls in your class.
20. Everybody in the school knows if you ditch class, or break a rule or hookup with somebody.
21. You know not to breathe near the blue paint.
22. You can play a wooden recorder
23. You can never forget your embarrassing childhood – they chose a picture of you to go on the school brochure.
24. You didn’t have Barbies, or GI Joe; you had silks and wooden trucks.
25. You know all the bible stories even though you’ve never set foot inside a church
26. You wonder if Waldorf has an agreement with Volvo to only drive their cars.
27. Cheerleaders, football players and all things “public school” are not only scorned, but also feared.
28. You’ve been asked, “Isn’t that a cult” when you say you go to Waldorf.
29. The thought of main lesson book nights haunts you years after you graduate.
30. You’ve been in at least one Shakespeare play
31. You’ve used the words “Waldork” and “Waldorfian”.
32. You couldn’t wait to get out of there, but once you did you wanted to be back.
33. You didn’t know the pledge of allegiance, but “I do behold the world” and the Bell Ringing verse are permanently imprinted in your brain
34. You know in your heart that no matter how hard you try to escape, you will always be a child of Waldorf.
35. You know you’re a truehearted Waldorfian when beeswax is a main source of entertainment.
36. You know you’re a Waldorfian when you sound out words using eurythmy.
37. You can sing, dance, twirl a cane, play four instruments, draw, paint, recite poetry, and cite historical quotes from any period, but you nave no clue what a “test” is.
38. When learning those damn 15 minute long poems in main lesson, you realize they never actually leave your brain, no matter how much you try.
39. At least one kid in your class has lived in some other part of the country, has dreads, and plays “D&D” during your “snack time”.
40. You remember in your years from at least 1st through 5th grade having to take “walks” around the “block” no matter what the weather was like… rain, please, snow? Oh well, thunderstorm, okay we will narrow it down to seven blocks!
41. Something like having to finish a main lesson book still makes you cringe!
42. When you were in 9th grade sitting during lunch time thinking about every other school has off campus lunch, and you’re like dammit we are treated like kids… and then you sit and think, wait aren’t we in 9th grade???
43. When you say the word “butt” in handwork (knitting, sewing, etc. class) and get a detention and a parent conference.
44. When saying the morning verse or singing songs is like second nature.
45. When you have artwork for homework.
46. When you’ve done circus, blacksmithing, watercolor painting, and seats and solos. You can also speak both German and Spanish.
47. When “Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere! Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share!” Is not just a stupid Barney song for kids, it’s still considered a ritual by students and staff alike.
48. When people ask you about your classes and you tell them you are currently taking fencing, stained glass, and just returned from a 48 your solo and fast and yet this is perfectly normal.
49. When you and your friends get bored waiting at the bus stop you break out into 4-part harmony… in Latin!

So what are the "Morning Verses"?

Lower grades (1 - 3):
The sun, with loving light,
Makes bright for me each day.
The soul, with spirit power,
Gives strength unto my limbs.
In sunlight, shining clear,
I reverence, O God,
The strength of humankind
Which thou so graciously
Has planted in my soul,
That I with all my might
May love to work and learn.
From thee come light and strength,
To thee rise love and thanks.

Upper grades (4 - 8):
I do behold the world,
The sun, the stars, the stone,
The plants that live and grow,
The beasts that feel and live,
And man to spirit gives,
A dwelling in his soul.
I do behold the soul,
That living dwells in me,
God's spirit lives and moves,
In light of sun and soul,
In heights of world without,
In depths of soul within.
Spirit of God, to thee,
I seeking, turn myself,
That strength and grace and skill,
For learning and for work,
In me may live and grow.

I hate the mall. It's always bad. But we've been there more than usual this last winter. Partly because we need to buy stuff for Hui-Hui, and partly because the weather has been so lousy it's one of the few places to take him and walk around. It's not like we have been there with any regularity, but a few times now, which is a lot of trips to the mall for me.

Anyway, on one of the last trips out there our oldest son Cam and his girlfriend Brittni came with us too. When we have Hui-Hui with us we indulge him a lot. Want to ride in the ride-on cars? Sure!

Then I'm looking at this ice-cream truck ride, And then I look at Cam. Cam is 6' 2". Now I'm enjoying watching Hui-Hui ride this thing, but I think I would enjoy watching my other son ride it even more. So I suggest he get in. Cam says they have weight limits on the rides and we'll get in trouble. I search the area around the ride-on cars. I can't find any posted rules or regulations anywhere. So I offer him $10 dollars if he'll get into the ice-cream truck. I hate it when I forget to take the digital camera with me, but fortunately my cell phone has a crappy built in cam...

That was worth $10.

Okay, now to redeem a bit of his dignity. Here's a picture we took a week ago at his last violin recital. He is standing with his Teacher Betsy. Cam has taken violin lessons with Betsy since he was 6 years old.

I wish this was my original idea, but I'm not that clever. We got this idea from the blog of one of our online friends. You can see theirs HERE.
I used THIS WEBSITE to build the caricatures. Cam was very pleased with his; apparently whoever built the website has similar taste in music as the "Children of Bodom" t-shirt was actually a choice on the site. I had to touch up the teddy-bear option to make it look more like Stinky Mouse.

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR SLIDESHOW

We finally made it "Over The Hill" to see Tina's dad and her brother's family. They have been so supportive of our family as we have gone through the entire adoption process that we wish we could have had them meet Kai sooner, but all the same it was a great visit. Tina's dad is 87 years old and lives just down the street from her brother's family. We visit them a lot, but this last year has been busy and our usual summer visit this year was made by just Tina and our younger son Ben. Cam and I were both busy with work.

We talked about having them come visit us on Veteran's day, but felt it would just be too much. At that point we had only been home from China for about 5 weeks and having 5 people (and possibly 2 dogs) was just more than we felt Kai was ready for. To be honest it was definitely more than Tina and I were ready for! So we postponed until Christmas. We were concerned about driving over the mountains in winter. We have done it pretty regularly over the last few years, but earlier this fall the weather had been pretty bad and we were feeling uneasy about doing a six-plus hour drive with a toddler. Thankfully Tina's dad helped us with airline tickets as a Christmas gift.

So instead of a 6 or 7 hour drive we were looking at a 35 minute flight. The kicker: The drive from our home to SeaTac, parking the car, shuttle, checking bags, security check, etc... doorstep to doorstep was just over 6 hours travel time. You can't win.

All the same Kai was a real trooper. He travels easy and is amazingly agreeable. A couple of fun footnotes on the journey over include stopping for dinner on our way to the airport at the same restaurant we went to when we flew to China. The waitress we had the first time was working and remembered us, she was really excited to see Kai. Then at the airport we ran into our niece's boyfriend Max. He had to fly back to L.A. to play a gig. Our boys are friends with him and were a bit bummed they weren't going to see him this trip, so this gave them a chance for a short visit to catch up with one another.

During the visit Kai pretty much stuck to his schedule. We weren't hard and fast with it, but for the most part he just went with the flow. It amazes me to see how easily he adapts to change. Kai had fun playing with his cousins and meeting his Grandpa, Uncle Bill, Aunt Erin, Aunt Peggy, and cousins Caitlin and Hailey. We even had an outing to the antique carousel in Spokane. Stupid me forgot the digital camera on that outing - have to get those photos next trip.

I'm glad we waited to make the trip. Kai has had the time to settle in a bit here and feel more rooted, which I think helped him be confident and comfortable meeting new people.

It was funny when we got back to our house, he was very excited to see his home again. It made us wonder if he thought we were going to come back here or not?

We hope you have a Very Merry Christmas!

This year, as I'm sure you can imagine, we are thankful for so very many things! Not the least of which is digital photography. This is one of 27 shots we took - you don't want to see the rest of them. It took longer than any of these three boys wanted to be in the silk outfits we bought in China, so we are also thankful for moments of cooperation on the part of teenagers and three year olds.

This is the third time the debate has been waged in this house...
Do we really want a Christmas Tree with a Three Year Old?
One year with Cam we actually had a table-top tree. Some might say we were wise. I think we were cowards. Ever since, we have always had a real Christmas tree. A few times we've bought them off of tree lots here in town, but we live in logging country. Out here in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains trees are for cutting down. So that's what we do.
Just a few minutes down the Mount Baker Highway from our home, Christmas Tree Farms are as thick as strip malls in California suburbia. We've been to a number of different farms over the years. This year we went to one called River's Edge, named for it's location along the Nooksack River. We chose this one because they have a wagon ride that takes you out to the trees. It was a really beautiful day, clear and not too cold. We got a bit of a late start as Ben worked today, and Cam took the ACT exam, but we made it to the tree farm before the sun dipped below the hills. Here's the view from where we were...

This has become such a big family tradition we don't even have to beg the teenagers to come along. They are Veteran Tree Hunters, and once we get to the tree farm we have to chase after Ben. Here they are with their young apprentice...

We rode the wagon out to the trees...

And began our search for the perfect tree.

We always go round and round on the selection process...

Mamma and Hui-Hui says, "Here it is!"

We all watched as...

Ben got ready to cut the tree.

Cameron helps steady it.

One reason the teenage boys may be so eager to come along is that we always visit Everybody's Store after we get our tree. This place is great! They have a deli sandwich bar that makes HUGE sandwiches, and if you come along and help cut the tree down you can have whatever you want.


We waited to bring the tree in the house until after Kai went to bed. He was quite surprised the next morning to find a tree in the livingroom! Tina and I put the lights on while he watched. This was very frustrating for him as he really wanted to "help". We managed to get it lit and called it at that until after his bedtime. It's been up and decorated for two days now, and he's been really good about leaving it alone. He likes to look at it, and has poked at it a bit, but it's not been a problem. He's too busy pushing the eject button on the CD changer.

We are very thankful this year for all that has come to pass since we began the journey of bringing Kai into our family. We are thankful for the good fortune which has allowed us to do this. We are thankful for the loving support of our extended family and friends. We are thankful for workplaces that support us in our need for flexible work hours, and value commitment to family. We are thankful for the opportunity to have seen a small piece of China and the beautiful people there. And we are thankful for the joy and renewed sense of wonder that Kai has brought to our lives.

The holiday season has officially begun, and we are enjoying being able to experience our family traditions with Kai for the first time. We drove down to the home of my sister's family and had a wonderful turkey dinner with them. This was the second time Hui-Hui had been to their home and he had a great time playing with his cousin Devon. He was very affectionate with everyone and gave kisses and hugs to his Gramma,

And even let Aunt Kris give him a hug .

He enjoyed watching some football with his Uncle Mark too!


On Friday night we went to our neighbors the Gudmundsens to listen to music.
Ben has had his drum set over there for a couple weeks now.


He and his good friend Traesti play with Traesti's dad, Bob.


Cam brought over his guitar...


and the four of them played a number of songs including: Brown Eyed Girl, House of The Rising Sun, and License To Kill.


Then Ben and Traesti played a set of songs on acoustic guitar and bass that they have been working on for a while. They play beautifully together and it was great to get to hear them.


We would have stayed longer, but Hui-Hui turns into a pumpkin at 8:00 PM every night.

It's a Big Brother Post on the blog!

This weekend was homecoming at Bellingham High School. On Friday night Tina and I took Hui-Hui to Civic Field to see his brothers perform in the drum line during the half time field show.

Ben's the one in the "Woolie Beanie", and Cam's the one with "The Hair"

The Band: About To Take The Field



And on Saturday night both boys had dates for the dance.

Here's Cameron with Brittni posing at our house before they left for dinner

And here's Ben with Emma at her house...


Ben was in the running for "Freshman Prince" but didn't make the final vote. Both boys were drafted into the homecoming assembly as a "Senior/Freshman Sibling Team". Tina and i didn't get to see this, but as we understand it they were in some sort of race that involved sticking marshmallows on each others faces and carrying one another across the stage.

On Saturday afternoon, Tina and I took Hui-Hui down to visit at my sister's house near Lake Goodwin. This was the second visit for him with this crew and it went great! We did the hour drive down during his nap and stayed for just two and half hours. He was rested and it was the perfect length visit. He and his cousin Devon really got to play together, and as you can see from the photos they really enjoyed one another...







With Grandma...

With Aunt Kris...

Okay, It's November, but it takes me a little while to post this stuff. Here's the Halloween snaps:

Tina really wanted to dress him as a monkey and I liked this idea. I thought we could make it into a Monkey King costume. But I argued for the cute little China Boy outfit on the grounds that we already had it, and besides, it's not going to fit him in a couple weeks, so we should get a few miles out of it!


In this shot, if you look closely, you can make out his "queue" the traditional braided ponytail worn by men in imperial China.
Our very nice neighbor lady across the street asked excitedly, "Where did you get the costume?"
She felt silly when we answered, "China."
I wish I could refrain from the sarcastic comments, like: "The make-up took hours!" But I'm a very bad man.

Here he is posing with the neighborhood's "usual suspects". Yes, they are all too old to be Trick-or-Treating. But they dressed up, so how can you stop them?

Here's Kai on his first stop. Our neighbor, Ian, is helping him make his selection. The observant eye, will notice that his loot bag on the ground is from The White Swan hotel!

Ben: the Hippy Pumpkin Carver:

and the Hippy Pumpkins!

Some Big Brother Time on the blog. Cameron had his senior portraits taken last Thursday. Hui-Hui went with Tina and his brother to the studio and was very well behaved. The photographer, Heather Elliott, is a parent at the Waldorf school. We are going to have her take some family portraits for us as soon as possible. Cam wasn't very interested in having his portrait done, but he was pretty compliant for us. I love the ones with his violin. The instrument was originally Tina's Dad's. And the hair, damn I wish I had hair like that!

Friends and family came to see Hui-Hui this weekend.

On Saturday our friends Paul and Mei-Mei came by to say hello. They have been very kind, and Mei-Mei has translated a number of things for us. We had a nice quiet visit and Hui-Hui warmed up to them pretty quickly. Mei-Mei spoke Mandarin with Hui-Hui and after a bit he took her by the hand and led her through the house. He even let her hold him for a bit. It was nice to have someone who speaks Mandarin spend some relaxed time with him here in our house. She was able to understand a number of his expressions, and could tell that he understood some of the things she was saying to him. We really want to be able to preserve and develop his Mandarin along side of English. I try to use Mandarin interchangeably with English for the few words I know. I wish I knew more because I know he will have an easy enough time learning English. The trick will be not forgetting Mandarin.

Paul and I worked on a couple magic tricks while they were here. Hui-Hui found this very interesting so I got him his own deck of cards to work with. Right now he spends most of his time taking the cards in and out of case. I told him that he needs to develop a good force, a couple false shuffles, his double lift and the classic pass. I figure once he gets these down we can begin some basic "ambitious card" routines and maybe even a gambling demonstration.

On Sunday Tina and I took Hui-Hui on a shopping spree to Target. Our friends Pat and Paula had sent him a very generous gift card. Here's the loot we got:


Here's a picture of Pat and Paula's son Jasper. Jasper and Hui-Hui are going to continue in the tradition of their fathers, and their grandfathers by being Great Friends!


After nap time on Sunday our house was invaded by my mom and my sister's family! You could see the tension within them as they did their very best not to overwhelm him! They brought in huge gift bags with crazy amounts of loot inside. Hui-Hui managed to get through some of it. My sister Kris had said she just wanted to scoop him up and hug and kiss him. She did really well at holding back. Here's a picture of Hui-Hui at the table with his Grandma, Aunt Kris, and cousins.


They were all watching him very closely trying to read his body language in an effort to determine how soon they could begin ravishing him.

Devon, who was dying to play with his new cousin finally got to spend some quality time in person with him.


But the kicker was that the one who Hui-Hui really reached out to first was my Brother-in-Law Mark! Mark had been in and out of the house to check the game scores in their car because I wouldn't let him have the TV on in the living room (Hui-Hui turns into a vegetable when the TV's on). When he was inside he kept his distance so as not to intimidate Hui-Hui. But after a bit Hui-Hui decided he wanted to hang with his 6'4" bearded Uncle Mark!


And best of all, Mark got the "pat-pat" invite to "come lie down on the floor with me"! Who can resist?


Aunt Kris was pretty jealous but she did get some one on one playtime too.


It was a fun visit and really good to see everybody. Hui-Hui is handling the excitement of his new life quite well. We are trying to make his adjustment as easy as possible, and we worry about over-stimulating him. But when we think about what our week and half with him in China was like, it would take a lot more than a few relatives to shake up this kid!