Abigail's Re-Adoption

For those of you who are not well-versed in the ins & outs of international adoption, let me explain. Abby's adoption was final way back in October of 2008, in China, and she was a citizen when we landed in Los Angeles 10/31/08. However, in order to get a U.S. birth certificate (think about the number of times and reasons you've needed to get an "original" birth certificate as an adult) and to ensure that legally, Abigail has the same rights as a biological child would (to my inheritance - HA) I had to go through the process of re-adopting her through the local county courthouse.

After navigating a seemingly endless paperwork maze, it all came together, and our court date was April 14th. I took the day off work, and picked up Frances from her school at noon. We all had lunch together at McDonald's then drove to the courthouse. Our appointment was for 1:45. Apparently, that was the appointment time for all ten families who were doing any adoption related hearings. We were assigned numbers, and then we all had to wait in the hallway for our turns. At naptime. With nothing to do. Several of us went out to play in the larger area by the elevators. We explored hallways, visited the drinking fountains... tried to maintain some semblance of order with all of our little kids running around.



When our turn came, Frances, Abigail and I went into the courtroom. Frances was fascinated with the idea of "going to court." Abigail was fascinated by the bailiff's gun! I had to hold Abigail for most of the proceedings, to keep her from wandering around the courtroom.



Frances and I were sworn in, and they even had a form for Franny to sign, promising that she will be a helpful and kind big sister. When I did Frances' re-adoption about eight years ago, the judge gave her a small stuffed animal as a souvenir. This time... nothing. Budget cuts, I suppose. But the judge and bailiff were both very nice and friendly.

Once we were done, we went across the street for Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

Spring Break, 2010

Instead of a road trip, this time we flew in an airplane to visit our friends in Washington state. Abigail has no recollection of flying home from China, so this was a new and exciting experience for her. Thankfully, she slept for most of the flights to and from WA. Frances was not eager to fly, until I pointed out that it only takes 2.5 hours, not the 11 or 12 that it took from Tokyo to Los Angeles!

Frances says that this was the best spring break ever! It was a child's paradise: kids to play with, a trampoline, climber, woods, tractors, Nerf guns, animals, bonfires... Wow! Franny was outdoors nearly all of her waking hours, despite the fact that the temperatures were in the 50's and 60's! Even light rain didn't stop her from playing outdoors with Sarah, Miriam and Caleb. When the kids were soaked and freezing, they came in to change into dry clothes and watch a movie together.

Abigail had a great time, too. She especially loved the animals.

Because it was so chilly, Abby did not spend as much time outdoors as Frances did (mostly because I didn't want to go out into the cold and watch her!). But she and Micah hit it off, and discovered a mutual love for Elmo. When I mentioned to Jen that Abby's favorite video is "Elmocize," and that she does all the moves along with it, Jen revealed that Micah does the same thing! Abigail and Micah were a crack up, as they Elmocized together!

We didn't have a lot of "planned " activities, because the kids were all having such a good time, entertaining themselves. We did go bowling one afternoon, at Ft. Lewis. All of the Bushnell girls bowled at least one strike, with Frances as the highest scorer in our family.

Everyone in both families bowled, except for Judah. He is still working on walking, so carrying a bowling ball was out! But he was happy anyway - look at his big smile!
Frances had some serious style and technique going on!



I had to take a picture of Sarah and Frances climbing trees. I used to do this as a child, but here in southern California, there isn't much opportunity for it. I was thrilled that my girl could have so much fun playing in the woods.

On our final night in WA, we had a bonfire and made s'mores. Bryan brought out the "potato cannon," and we were all fascinated. Frances got a mini-science lesson about propellants and combustion, as Bryan sent potatoes flying out over the pasture. BOOM!


Abigail and Micah liked to look for Hannah, the chihuahua, in the house. Abby kept pulling Hannah out of her hiding places and carrying her around. "Doggie's freezin', Mama," she commented in response to Hannah's continuous shivering. No, she is probably just freaked out by the little people who keep bothering her!

We were sad that our vacation was over. Our friends are such wonderful hosts, and we had a great time. Bye, guys!

The girls came home happy and exhausted. Here is our last glimpse of Mt. Rainier... beautiful! Abigail slept on the plane, and both Abigail and Frances slept in the next morning until 8:00, which is a small miracle in our family!

Happy Resurrection Day!

As has become an Easter tradition, we went to the Hunters' on Good Friday to color eggs. Frances and Aunt Linda set up the egg dye, measuring all of the ingredients (something Frances always wants to do at home, but Mommy is afraid of spills...) and then we sat down to do some serious dye jobs.


Frances was her usual careful and thoughtful self, using a white crayon to draw on the eggs before putting them into the dye. Some eggs had a message about God's love, while others carried the names of her favorite celebs (just like Heather). Abigail was more enthusiastic than careful. She grabbed eggs, plopped them into the dyes, stirred vigorously with big spoons... I made it through about four eggs with her, before I had to provide an alternate activity!


I think that Frances colored about a dozen eggs altogether, and then wanted to bring them home to be hidden at our house! She has decided that rather than an egg hunt at the Hunters' on Easter morning, she would prefer a "treasure hunt" like Heather and Scott have, in which Grandma Hunter provides a written list of clues to follow, that lead to the basket's hiding place.

On Easter morning, Frances was up at 6! I told her that she had to wait until at least 6:30 before waking her sister. At exactly 6:30, Franny was back in my room, ready to go get Abby. Last year, Abigail was confused about the whole egg hunt thing, but this year, she figured it out right away and was excited!

We had breakfast and went to church, and then headed for the Hunters' house. When we arrived, Abigail looked out into the backyard and asked, "We swim in pool?" No, dear, the water is way too cold right now...
Abigail needed her big sister's help to find the eggs and the basket that had been hidden for her in the backyard, and Frances was happy to help.

Then Frances followed the clues, and located her basket out by the diving board. We had a delicious lunch (no one else makes cabbage rolls like Zenia) and Frances enjoyed watching the Disney channel (we don't have cable at our house). Abigail has overcome her initial fear of dogs, and now adores Lady, the Hunters' dog.

Lady is very patient with Abigail's friendly overtures. Abigail even tried to make Lady give a "high-five" with her paw! When Lady disappeared into the backyard, Abigail became the dog, crawling around on all fours with a ball in her mouth!

An imaginary... tiger?

The other day, during a shopping trip to Wal-Mart, Abigail acquired an imaginary tiger. She announced to me, "Tiger following us."
"What?" I pretended to be scared. "Is he going to bite me?"
"No, Mom, he not a scary tiger, he a nice tiger."
She named the tiger Fluffy. He is not a baby tiger, but sometimes can be quite small, to fit into the palm of her hand. He goes with her everywhere, and she tells me what he says and thinks. She has quite an imagination!