Settling In

For those who have been following our blog, here's an update.
1. Roger is in his third week of classes and is doing well in his class on Advanced Educational
Psychology. Roger is working on a research project titled, "Language acquisition challenges
and remediation strategies for post institutionalized internationally adopted children". So far
he has not found employment but God is taking care of the family's needs.
2. Holly has been helping the children acclimate to family life. Steven and Samuel both love to
paint and have been producing originial creations. They attend AWANA at church though they
don't quite know what to do, especially Steven (who doesn't know the language).
3, We are making plans to have Steven seen by a pediatrician who is skilled at caring for
internationally adopted children. He will need a complete blood work-up, including test for
parasites. Most children from China have giardia or someo other kind of infection. We have
also sent an application to Shriner's Hospital. They are expert at caring for children with
orthopedic needs. We'll may need an evaluation for Steven's cognitive and psycho-social
developmental issues.
4. Amy now officially has a Virginia learner's permit and is anxious to take a turn at the wheel.
Nice job Amy! She's progressing in her homeschooling
I hope you enjoy the latest pictures.

Post Adoption Newsletter

In Spring 2007 I (Holly) first saw Yufei on the America World Adoption Association special need website. He was described as a six year-old boy with deformed wrists and fused knees. We expressed reservations about our ability to care for an older child with unique needs, we sensed God’s urging to pursue the adoption process. New pre-approval processes were required before we could begin the paperwork. Initially we believed that the small profits from the sale of our home in February 2007 were sufficient to cover the cost of the adoption but we were wrong.
Holly sometimes states, “Life is what happens when we’re making other plans”. Within a week of our application for adoption, our 21 year old daughter informed us of her engagement and upcoming marriage in April. There went a large portion of the adoption account. Then came Roger’s father’s unexpected death that required a family trip to Canada. Soon afterwards, our 17 year old daughter was diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma. Then Roger’s employment was scheduled to end.
Knowing Roger’s employment was ending soon, he made plans to return full-time to graduate school. We secured housing near the university before our trip to China and scheduled our move to Virginia for three days after our return from China.
We are convinced God orchestrated the timing of all these transactions and he provided for all of our needs during this unsettling time. The adoption travel expenses maxed out our once empty credit card account though we had enough to cover the moving truck expenses and get us settled in our new home. Presently Roger is attending graduate school full-time to gain a masters degree in education; meanwhile he searches for employment that will cover the family’s needs and provide necessary medical coverage for the family.
Jiang Yu Fei was renamed Steven Yufei Nauss, after Steven Curtis Chapman whose ministry was the inspiration for the adoption of our children. Our son is very petite for his age, even for Chinese children. Though he is seven, he’s much smaller than Samuel, our four year old adopted son from China. Steven still has all of his baby teeth, though one front tooth is unhealthy and discolored. He is developmentally delayed, functioning at a kindergarten level in all areas. We learned that his knees are not only fused but they appear to be rotated and the legs actually are bowed backwards. He walks as if he were wearing stilts. When he falls, he rights himself up by rolling to his front and pushing himself up supported by the back of his hands and toes, and in one jerking motion, thrusts his rear upwards and hops up like a bird. When he walks he places one foot forward while whipping the other foot around using his hip. The entire process seems painful but he shows no pain. When he runs, he side-steps with quick shuffle-hop motions. When Steven eats, he picks up his fork with his right hand curled, places the hand over his left wrist and with the left arm, brings the right hand up to his face. Then he leans forward to eat from the fork. He utilizes the same process to brush his teeth. He has learned some clever ways to dress and undress himself.
Although he has not been officially diagnosed, we believe he has a lifelong disability called, “arthrogryposis”. We` do not believe he will ever be able to bend his knees independently though we believe that physical therapy may provide some benefit to the mobility he has already attained.
Steven came to the orphanage with two prominently pronounced 4 inch parallel scars on his forehead. The orphanage director says that he arrived at the orphanage with these scars and they know nothing of its cause. We hope someday that plastic surgery will be offered for him to hide these unfortunate disfigurements.
Steven has a delightful, mostly compliant demeanor with a ready smile; although very shy when meeting new people, at home he has opened up to us. Steven is eager to learn and desires to fit comfortably into the family unit. We love hearing him say, “momma and baba”. He loves his older sister and is learning to get along with his younger brother.
The most important thing we wish to offer Steven as he grows up in our home is to learn about and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the One who loves him with an everlasting love. We pray someday Steven will enter into God’s forever family by receiving Christ as Savior and Lord.
Our family is still recovering from an exhausting and arduous 24 hour multi-plane trip home from China followed by our move to Virginia. However we are now settling into a daily routine with the children. Holly has begun homeschooling Steven, introducing him to family life and helping him gain a conversational use of English. Soon we hope to find a good pediatrician that can help Steven update his immunizations and implement a strategy to help Steven with his condition. We will soon be receiving an application form from Shriners Hospital in Greenville, SC. If they accept the application, then Steven's medical treatment may be covered. Let's see what God does!

Overwhelmed by God's goodness

Yesterday, we were informed that a generous benefactor has donated $25,000 to our family for our adoption needs. This gift will completely wipe out our adoption debt and allow us to help assess Steven's medical needs. He will need a complete physical exam and blood work, evaluate his arthrogryposis (if indeed that is his condition). These funds will also enable our family to stay afloat while Roger begins his education and seeks additional employment. We were trusting the Lord but he went way beyond our hopes and expectations,. Thank the Lord!

Welcome to Liberty U graduate colleagues

For those newcomers to the ChiNauss blog: "Ni-hao" (Good morning).

I'm Roger:
* husband of beautiful Holly (married 25 years this August)
* father to two beautiful daughters: Alicia (married and expecting in April, age 22), Amy (HS
junior and very talented)
* father to two active adopted boys from China: Samuel (age 4) and Steven (age 7+) Steven is
our newest adopted son (only 2 weeks) Both have special needs
* senior pastor for 20 years in three churches
* graduate of The King's College (BA inReligious Education) and Denver Seminary (M-Div)
* newly relocated to Virginia in order to attend Graduate School and be near family (moved two
days ago)
* recently returned from a two week trip to China (our second time) to adopt. We love the
Chinese people and culture and have many stories to tell
* ready to return to the academic world and gain certification in Secondary Education
* prayerfully seeking employment while attending f/t classes

I hope you enjoy this blog. I will be sharing both information on our adoption as well as post discussions on my learning experience in the classroom, particulary in Educational Psychology. God bless you, and welcome to our blog.

We're home

You have heard the children's tune, "It's the song that never ends, and it goes on and on my friend". That's how yesterday's marathon flight home felt like to this weary family. It took over thirty waking hours and 22 flight hours before we became reacquainted with our beds at home. Steven did well on the travels with one exception. As we approached the runway at Minneapolis/St. Paul (our first American port of call and US Customs inspection station), our son decided he did not want to declare the contents of his stomach. So he left them on his airplane seat. The other thing that Steven is not enjoying is our dog Moxie. Moxie is an 80 pound chocolate lab mix and Steven has never had a personal encounter with an animal. So he's quite intimidated and afraid. But I feel in time he will adjust the same way Samuel did with the dog. However Steven does like our cats "shao-mao". (That's what is sounds like he's saying).
Samuel enjoyed the light to moderate turbulance but he did not like to do all the walking between gates.
One highlight in the journey was seeing the spectacular Mt. Fuji from our airplane windows.

Today we spent the day packing our remaining belongings for our move to Virginia. Now that jet lag is catching up with us, we'll sign off .
Thanks for all of your prayers. And keep reading as we share about our life with two boys.

One big praise item: We were notified that we are receiving one final adoption grant. Thank the Lord for his kindness!