Family Photo summer 2009

Jessica had been home with us for 7 months when we decided to bring big brother Jacob home for a visit from his group home. We all enjoyed Jacob in his family environment. During his visit, we were able to get a family photo taken at church! What a blessing to have everyone together for a week! Jessica continues to learn so many things very quickly! She is learning to read and write English. She is a chapter and a half away from finishing the book, Charlotte's Web. We have been reading it together all summer. She can hardly wait to watch the movie, now that she knows all the characters and the storyline. Yesterday, Jessica bought bright purple - wings to complete her bumble bee costume for the upcoming Harvest Festival celebration! She gets sooo excited about so many things!!! She squeaks when she is thrilled about something. She has tons of energy and is always ready for something fun! What an addition she has been to our Cramkids' Family!!!

New Experiences

We find we are addicted to this little girl's smile! Here we are for a first time on roller skates as a Cram Crew! In spite of the many dramatic flops, bruised knees, and blistered feet, everyone had a blast! Jessica kept signing FUN...FUN... FUN! She has been planning a second trip and we will be including her Dad this time in addition to her Sunday School teacher and a few friends! It has been difficult for her to focus on anything else! This kid is up for just about ANY kind of adventure! Her determination is admirable!

Jessica is doing great in her new routine! She LOVES going to school on the bus and coming home each afternoon! On Sundays, she attends church with the family. She has received two Bibles now both in Chinese and English. She is learning to say prayers for mealtimes and during family devotions. After four practice sessions, she has learned to recite the Lord's Prayer in American Sign Language! We are truly amazed at how quickly our precious little girl is processing language! This week, she got her hearing aids at the deaf school and excitedly raised her hand with each new sound she was able to hear! We don't yet know if she will be able to understand speech with her hearing aids, but she will be able to know when sounds are happening around her. She will likely be able to turn to her name when it is called near her. She is very motivated and eager to learn many new things. It is a joy to see her develop! She is already saving money in a savings account so that she might one day be able to fly back to China and see the people she loves from her younger years. We are so pleased that she has such positive feelings about her connections before coming to her forever family. She has a spot of her very own. We adore this little addition to the Cram Family! Thanks to so many who have continued to pray for all of us during this time of adjustment and discovery! Mama Cram for all the Cramkids' Crew!

Jessica meets big brother Jacob!

After not seeing big Jacob for 4 weeks, we were finally able to keep our reservation at the Shilo Inn in Boise where Jacob and Jessica could have some time to hang out swimming, playing video games, going to a big movie (Madagascar 2), and getting some shopping in as a family! We were amazed at Jessica's enthusiasm about her big brother who lives in a group home. There was really not an easy way to communicate about Jacob's multiple disablities, but she seemed to understand that he was really going to be more like a younger brother than an older brother. She kept signing to me, asking if I had the dinosaur toy we bought for him at the zoo in China. I told her I had it and she gave me the big thumbs up sign. She was not afraid to go inside the group home to pick him up... and actually led him by the arm to the van while I was still signing "checkout" paperwork and collecting his many meds. for our visit. She was delighted at his excitement in the van after we picked up pizza to go at Costco before making our way to the hotel. She loved watching him swim as we have discovered that they are most naturally connected by their shared love of water! She gestured for us to give Jacob a hug before we all went to bed, and when I asked her if she wanted to hug Jacob she shrugged and waited for me to tell Jacob... "hug Jessica". He had been copying her name sign after our modeling it for him and would make eye contact with her briefly throughout the evening. She bravely went in for a brotherly hug from big Jacob and he hugged her as gently as I have ever seen him hug anyone!!! The next morning, she independently signed to Jacob for several hugs herself! She continued to try to mother him by bringing him things he liked and made sure that Chuck and I each held his hands before taking him stores for shopping. They were very sweet to watch all day! ...I have realized that I have wasted so many hours worried over this single connection. We are so very blessed their first meeting went as well as it did. Thanks for those who were praying for us! We really could not have asked for a better result for their first encounter! So... now, when we talk about our family... we talk about "the five of us in our house" and one more... Jacob ... who lives in the city in the group home. Jessica seems to be more and more a part of us each day! We are all so amazed at her ability to communicate with us. While we still run into language barriers between Chinese Sign Language and American Signs... she is learning the new language quickly and has a very strong motivation for us to understand her communication as well. We are truly blessed to have her and have enjoyed our new life as the Cramkids in Idaho! Beth for the Cramkids' Crew

Picture of Jessica's Christmas Cookies!

Jessica is HOME!

Jessica is settling in here in Gooding and we are all delighted to watch her make herself at home. It was fascinating to watch her explore the home she had only seen pictures of while in China. She had written our house numbers on a paper for us during the first couple of days that we met, which made us think she knew that our little house in Gooding would soon be her house as well. After looking in each room, drawer, closet and cupboard, she settled in the kitchen and requested the opportunity to cook. We got out some Christmas Cookie mix left over from the holidays and she spent the next several hours baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Friends have popped in to say hello and to meet our little girl. She has proudly offered our visitors a treat which she had baked and decorated during her first hours at home. It has been a delight to watch her light up at the sight of family dinners together in her new home and bedtime prayers when we recall the events we have enjoyed together during the day. Jessica has been telling us that she was excited to try fishing in America when we got home. As best we can tell, she has had some kind of exposure to fishing in China, and is anxious to see how it works in America. We think the cold and snow is a new experience for her, and she is not too thrilled about wearing gloves and other cold weather attire. She was sure we were going to take her fishing the first week at home. New events are a challenge for all of us. She was terrified to start school, so we were able to use a fishing opportunity as a bit of a reward for going to school for the first afternoon. Our idea worked, as she reluctantly went to school with me for lunch with new friends and an afternoon on her own with friendly staff and students. Chuck showed up to ride the bus home with her for the first day and I stayed at school for her entrance meeting. When I got home, she informed me that she would be riding the bus with Micah the next morning and will be attending school. Chuck took her for a VERY short fishing trip, as promised. Her curiousity seems to be satisfied as she informed us that the fish were hiding because it was so cold and that the fishing would be better when the weather warmed up as the fish would be more active. PRECIOUS!!! I have been concerned about going back to work and managing the morning routine with our new little gal. Today was her first full day at school and after a few minutes to wake up, she was excited to get ready for the bus to come! WHEW!!! What a relief to know that she is already enjoying the social contact. Her communication seems to be switching over quickly as she is picking up American Sign Language. She is motivated to fit in with friends at the deaf school and to be successful with her newfound skills! We are constantly AMAZED at this little one's ability to adapt and make the best of a new situation! We feel like we are witnessing a miracle EVERY DAY! After school this Friday, we will all be making the trip back to Boise for Jessica to meet big brother Jacob for the first time. She LOVES to swim as we have found out from our time together in China. Jacob also loves the water, so we thought a hotel with a warm pool might be just the ticket for these two to have an opportunity to see each other in action. We are hoping to be in church Sunday morning with good reports of our first encounter having had all the Cramkids together in one place. Jessica has been pointing out Jacob's pictures all over the house and knows we will be with him this weekend in a hotel near the airport. Thanks for your continued prayers as we continue to soak in our kiddo while trying to overcome jetlag and re-entry in our busy work-a-day schedule. We are enjoying new discoveries EVERY DAY as we experience the newness of each event with our precious daughter. How blessed are we to have been chosen to share this journey with such a beautiful little creation; complements of our loving GOD! We are so grateful for the prayers and encouragement of so many! Thanks for celebrating with us! Gratefully, the Cramkids' Crew

We tried to communicate to Jessica that we wanted to visit her home town to tell the children good-bye before flying to America. We have pieced together bits of American Sign Language with some Chinese Sign Language, along with the help of our beloved guide, Helen, who wrote to Jessica in Mandarin. She seemed to understand that we were not going to be dropping her off. It was so comforting to see her reconnect a bit with the caregivers who had provided so much for her for so long. The orphanage officials hosted an incredible feast for us in celebration of the successful match with Xie Si! We will always be grateful for the loving care our little girl received in her home town from the orphanage, her school for the deaf, and her foster sister who gave so much of herself to this precious little girl. She has been able to connect and communicate with our family. Much of that is a credit to the care she has received in her hometown. We will always cherish the generousity she has experienced in her early years. The Crams are grateful!