China Trip: Meet Maci

Last year in China, I met this little sweetheart.  She was hospitalized when we arrived in her city, and we only got to see her on our last day there.

Maci has thalassemia.  Thalassemia is a blood disorder.  Unfortunately, it requires regular blood transfusions.  She was in the hospital for a blood transfusion and chelation medicine when we arrived. The reason I say this is unfortunate is because China has a blood shortage.  It's not a common practice for people to donate blood there.  For many people in China, being born with thalassemia is a death sentence.

But Maci is a lucky girl, because she has an adoptive family coming for her!  Here in the US, thalassemia is a manageable condition, and I look forward to seeing Maci grow and thrive in Facebook photos.

One of our team members has a child with thalassemia, and was able to assess how Maci is doing.  Immigration (USCIS) has granted her family a medical expedite, meaning they will process her paperwork more quickly than usual, so she can get here sooner for much needed medical care.

Maci's family is having a Matilda Jane fundraiser.  If you want to shop to help a great cause, please select Michele F's party.  Also, if you would like to donate directly toward their adoption fees without making a purchase, you can do so through PayPal.

If you are interested in more information about what it's like to parent a child with thalassemia, here is a great blog post by a mom who now has 2 kids with thal.  There are currently 30 waiting children listed on Rainbow Kids with thalassemia, some as young as a year old.  The shared list has 9 thal kids, 2 of which are not transfusion dependent.  There are facebook groups for families with adopted children with thalassemia, and if you're interested in connecting one on one with an experienced mom to ask questions, I'm happy to introduce you to a couple.


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Sacramento County Fair

This was our official Last Homeschool Field Trip for the school year.  We entered the fair with a group of other homeschoolers.  I'm really grateful to have had this opportunity the last few years, because we probably wouldn't go without the incentive of free admission and free parking.

Homeschoolers generally aren't great about all doing the same thing, so we got some group photos right away before everybody headed off in different directions to do their own things.

We were only a few minutes in when I said to the kids, "Hey, let me get a picture, in case you guys get lost!"  I know I'm not the only mom who thinks like this.  I don't want to come up blank when I'm asked what my child was wearing when they disappeared.  When the big kids were little, I spent most of every outing counting to 7 to make sure no one had wandered off.

With that safety precaution out of the way (and my cell phone number on all the kids) we were free to start enjoying the scenery.  Including turtles the size of laundry baskets.

This animal rescue was here last year.  This is a cavy and a wallaby, and they're friends.

The kids wanted to go through and see the animals again as we were leaving.  The second time through, the tiger was facing the opposite direction.  But when we saw him, he didn't move much.

This big kitty was sticking his tongue out.

We spent some time wandering around the exhibits, and looking at the educational stuff, but we spent a lot more time on the rides this year.

When I went to buy some tickets, the guy asked how many kids I had.  Turns out, it was cheaper to get the 3 of them wristbands than it was to get a batch of 50 tickets, so we did that instead.

The only downside was that I couldn't go on any rides with them.

Which wasn't much of a downside, since they were having a blast.

We wandered through the barn, looking for friends showing sheep, came across friends showing bunnies instead, and then found a quiet, out of the way picnic area behind the barn, so we sat down to eat the lunches we'd brought.

I laughed when another homeschool mom was saying, "This is the one time a year he gets a Lunchable."  Her preschooler son would not let go of it while we were waiting to get in.  I realized this is pretty much the one time a year my kids get Lunchables, too.

I was a little nervous about the kids going up on the Ferris wheel (with no seat belts) without me, but they had a great time.  And I found a bench to sit on in the shade for a few minutes.

I like the giant slide.  Jack likes the giant slide.

Katie likes the giant slide.

Hannah, not so much.

Katie was too short for the big swings, and Hannah declined, so Jack went on those while the girls...

...went on the more grounded Jeeps.

Not sure how Hannah ended up on the tilt a whirl, but she didn't like it.

The flowers made a nice backdrop for a picture while Jack went on something they were too small for.

Turns out, Jack didn't like this one after all.

The serpent was more their speed.

The guy at the merry go round said, "You can go on with them," when the girls ran up to go on the empty carousel.  I told him I didn't have a wrist band, and he said, "That's okay."

So we all went together.  I thought it was very sweet of him, and we made sure to thank him when we got off.

I was about done at this point, but the kids had seen a couple more rides from the merry go round that they wanted to check out, and since they had wrist bands, I kind of felt like we needed to get our money's worth.

So they did a couple more rides.

As we were getting ready to leave, I ran into another friend and asked her to take a picture for us.  This was at the end of what my phone tells me was more than 7,000 steps, and we're all still smiling, so I'm calling the day a success.

Much as I miss having little ones, I have to admit it's easier to get out and do things without strollers and diaper bags.  Trying to see the silver lining to this weird changing season of life I find myself in.


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Our Last Week of School

We took a field trip last week, which I didn't talk about last week, because I thought it would get it's own blog post, but since that hasn't happened, I'll just share it this week.

In what was our second to last homeschool field trip for this year, and possibly ever, we went to visit KLove Radio/Air 1.  This is a nationwide Christian radio station that I've listened to for years, so it was neat to get to see "where the magic happens" so to speak.

Photo above is our little group.  They broke us into 3 or 4 groups, since there were 40 of us.

We got to see lots of interesting things, and learn about the other ministries that go on behind the scenes, like a program for first responders and another program that goes into schools.

It was a really neat tour, and I'm glad the opportunity came up while we could still participate.

You know after you give blood, there's a snack lady that gives you juice and munchies while your body acclimates?  I got to be the snack lady for a couple hours last weekend.  I know several families who have adopted kids with thalassemia, and I myself carry the alpha thal trait.  It was neat to get to help in some tiny way one of the organizations that handles the blood these kids so desperately need on a regular basis.

When you find yourself a little jealous of your son's hips.

This was a collaborative artwork piece "made from Katie and Hannah."  Katie's been on a scissors kick lately in her free art times.  I like the multi-dimensional aspect her bamboo adds.

We cleaned out Jack & Hannah's binders.  Sometimes I wonder if we're doing "enough" schoolwork.  Seeing these piles made me feel better.

We took down all the Figures in History that we had up on the walls and made them into a book.  Jack is using Kwik Stix to make the cover for it.

The kids helped me by finding 2 complete ABC sets in the flat fish.  I'm getting ready to sell off a bunch of our homeschool supplies and curriculum at a local homeschool sale.

If you're interested in Exploring Countries and Cultures from My Father's World, I'm selling this as a set for $220 plus actual shipping.  Retail is over $400.

I've got 19 years worth of homeschool purchases to sort through.  I'm hoping to get some more pictures done soon and maybe make a separate For Sale post.  If there's anything you're looking for, particularly if you know we've used it or reviewed it, don't be shy about asking!  I need it gone.

I like the car ride home from the library because it's always so quiet!

Jack has discovered that we can request books, so we'll be at the library often this summer.  I already have more to pick up.

This is what I get when I try for a Last Day of School picture.

Top photo, first day, bottom photo, last day.  They've changed so much this year!

Brianna in her Rosie the Riveter pose.

While it's sad to come to the end of homeschooling (at least for now), I'm thrilled to welcome summer.  It's Bri's last summer home, and I want to make it a great one for all of us.  I know I need to be intentional about it, or else the time will slip away and we won't have done all the things on our bucket list.


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