stitchingtochina

3rd Birthday

2011-03-07T19:20:00.001-08:00

This is how you will find me most late afternoons, my own personal sense of style

My brothers are alot of fun

We celebrated Maggie's 3rd Birthday on February 20th. Although we know her real birthday is around the 1st of April (give or take a few days) we have decided to not change it legally. I looked into and it is a tedious strange process. Even if you get the birthday changed at the state level you still have to have it changed at the federal level and there are no gurantees. So when you go to get a passport it can cause issues. Instead it will just be a part of her story.

She totally enjoyed her birthday and recieved some of her favorite things. Her papoo fixed an antique doll highchair for her. She also has enjoyed a pretend wok set, doll potty, dora doll, and plastic kid chair. She had many cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to help her celebrate. She now knows what "Birthday" means and is gets excited when we talk about her jie jie's birthday that is coming up in a few weeks.

She is still doing really well. I personally think she is the cutest 3 year old around. She has such a fun personality. She is sassy and so smiley. When she smiles her whole face lights up and she smiles ALOT. Now it is good that she is so darn cute because she has resorted back to spitting. When we first came home she would spit on us when she didn't like something we did or said. It got better and she really went a good month or so with no spitting. But now it is back. I can see the bubbles of saliva collect on her bottom lip as she thinks over wether or not she will hit her target. If this was my first or even second child I would probably be in a twit. Sometimes I have to hide my smile when I see her get so sassy and spittin like a camel. Why do I smile - because I know this shows she is a little fighter and she is strong. So now I just have to brag a bit more on my sweet baby .......

Maggie plays hard, laughs hard, can get really mad, yell really loud, smile big, climb fast, run in high heels, sleep through the night, whisper I love you, I love you, I love you in my ear, poops on the potty in about 10 seconds, begs everyone to read "pinkalicious" (yes she can say that word), brings me the phone when it rings, finds my coffee mug after I have sat it in 20 places in the morning, get in and out of her carseat, peddle her tricycle all over the place, gives BEAR hugs, gets bashful when we catch her playing imaginary play but readily lets us join in, mix mandarin in English (says Bu want it aka no I don't want it), won't stay in her sunday school class without us (always did love 3year old sunday school - NOT), loves to sit and have Davis read her books, loves shoes - all shoes - will melt down over shoes, favorite outfit is underwear, sunglasses, high heels, and a baby doll, and is a few inches off the ground from doing the full splits - we think she is so talented. After watching her brothers swim team for weeks her newest talent is to stand in a chair get in the diving pose and jump on 3, and her form ain't so bad.

I love my Bunny and my chair

We can BRING It On with my Mama and P90X extreme Yoga

Designing For Hope

2011-01-24T19:23:00.001-08:00

My cousin, Sharla is an amazing jewelry designer. She has a heart for orphans (adopted from China) and loves Jesus. She has recently opened a website where she is selling her jewlery to raise funds for mission trips to Swaziland. She has been 4 times and her one of her sons has also gone with her. All excess money raised is given away to the people in need in Swaziland.

For the next month 10% of her sales will go to help a family adopting 2 boys from china. Click here to go to the families blog

Click here to view her jewelry website. What a great way to have a nice piece of jewelry and help a family.

2011-01-20T12:51:00.000-08:00

A few photos of the going on's around our home. For the past few weeks Maggie has been trying to put a baby on her back while playing. Yesterday morning I found a long strip of fabric and tied up a baby sling. I think for her birthday I will sew up something a little better with velcro so she can more easily put a baby on her back. She is such a little treasure and radiates joy.

Our Saturday Morning hooked on"kid crack"
aka TV
Baby on the back swaddled in blankets

I love babies, especially on my back they way my grandmother carried me

This is what homeschool math looks like

Maggie always seems to find Graham's lap

They all wanted to make silly faces

wrestling with older brother, Maggie loves to have fun and stir it up

They consider each other pretty special

What they need

2011-01-04T19:19:00.001-08:00

What do they need - orphans that is. If you are like me when posed with the question "Can I adopt" you think "how will we pay to educate them, raise them, do family vacations, save for retirement, ect". I get caught up in the lifestyle I want to live and what I want to provide to the children in my home. This is Satan's snare. It is so easy to rationalize why it is ok to want all these things. The deal is none of those things in and of themselves are sinful or wrong. It becomes sinful when that is what rules our life and decisions. In James 4 it says

"Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why you do not even know what will happen tomrrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.........Anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

This verse tells us first "To listen" and then poses the question "what is your life". As a believer I know that God should define my life. But I am a sinner and often fall way short. I like to define my life. My heart tells me, my culture tells me, my wealthy county -tells me that my desires are reasonable they are good, but in my heart I know that it is not true. I really desire a Christian education for my kids and would then like to pay for their college- sounds ok, right? Sure there is nothing wrong with that. Problem is private school is expensive and so is college. More kids you have more money it cost. So what is the answer? Change expectation and change the life of an orphan or keep desire. When we decided to adopt the 4th time we knew we were changing all of our kids future education. We certainly can't put them all in private school and college loans are in their future. I think all my kids will be ok with this. They would choose Maggie and Corinne.

When we adopt Maggie I would sit at Breakfast at our hotel and look around at all the children with their new families being adopted. I kept thinking there is not one child who would say "Well if you can't put me in private school, or pay for college, or give me my own bedroom then forget it I would rather be an orphan". In an orphans world that sounds ridiculous but in safe little Williamson county we call it being reasonable.

In China our Maggie wasn't being raised in material wealth. But She was being raised in a wealth of love. It is so evident in her pesonality, security, and self esteem. Below are photos of her house of love. Doesn't look like much. Just a good reminder of what it takes to raise up a child that will one day call Jesus Lord and Saviour. There are so many children that need a home please consider praying if God is calling your family to adopt.

Kitchen

Bedroom for 4

Den

No fancy dryers here

A Yard to play in that requires a wonderful imagination due to lack of toys

Results are in the next photo. 2 orphans lives forever changed because the Father comes first in this amazing community in Ch...

2011-01-02T20:09:00.000-08:00

We have done a bad job of taking photos since coming. Don't know if that is cause it is #4 or it has been busy during the holidays. People have asked about Maggie. I have to say she has done better than we expected. She is sharing a room with C and doing well. She fusses for a minute or 2 when we first tell her time for bed but settles down quickly. She loves dolls and playing kitchen. She also loves playing with her sister. Whenever the phone rings she tells me to answer and she also instructs me to put on my seatbelt when we get in the car. Tomorrow we start back to our regular routine and I am ready. Not sure what she will think when her brothers go to school tomorrow and her sister goes later in the week.

I think of her foster family often. I know that must wonder how she is doing and worry about her. I wish I could give them a snapshot and glimpse as to how she is doing. She is doing well because of them. More on that later. Want to leave you with one thought and something I read on another blog- see below.

Seeing his baby turtle

Really shocked that there is a baby turtle

Maggie understands presents
He is all about crystals/rocks
Corinne wants to sew like her mama

Still enjoying noodles

LiTao's Post

2010-12-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

I seem to have been taken in by a family from a nomadic group of Chinese about which I was previously unaware. They don't seem to settle in one place too long and like to graze hotel all you can eat buffets. I was well prepared for my very own, brand new family, but I have to admit I thought they were going to move in with us. I was really sad at first. I really miss my foster grandmother a lot, and the rest of my family, but I'm hoping we'll visit soon.

I'm still sad, but things aren't too bad with these folks. They like to buy me things, and give me all sorts of treats that my foster grandmother wouldn't let me have. Candy, ice cream, sweet milky drinks that I still don't know what they're called, more candy and so on. As a matter of a fact, these people do a lot of eating. I'd worry about my waistline, but they're making sure I walk it off. In the past two weeks, I've walked enough to circle all of China at least once. I've learned that all I have to do is stand in front of my new mom and act like I'm about to cry, and she'll pick me up...but she insists on carrying me in her arms. Doesn't she know I'm easier to carry strapped to her back? Her choice, I guess.

Their Chinese is getting a little better, but we still have a lot of communication problems. I'm patient though, and hopeful that they'll get the hang of it soon. My mom has a few phrases that she utters. I think she really thinks she is talking to me. I appreciate her effort, and sort of nod, when she gets close. I talk all the time, thinking that they'll pick it up soon.

They've taken me to what must be a very rural area. We were on a plane for a long time, so it must be in the far corners of China. When we were driving to the hotel, I saw almost no other cars on the street, maybe only a couple hundred. And people...where are the people? The sidewalks are nearly bare of people. And the sky...where is the sky? They've got some odd blue haze covering the sky here. I hope it's not toxic.

I've met my other brother and sister. Their Chinese is much worse but we all speak the international language of "play". We played all morning today and had tons of fun. They must be joining us on our journey now. I hope so. It's nice to have traveling partners. The more the merrier. They also keep talking about a person named "Maggie". Maybe we'll meet her soon.

I really like this hotel though and hope we can stay awhile. It's much larger than the others. There are all sorts of plants outside, but they don't eat any of them. And the toys...there are toys all over the place. I need to remember this place. Maybe they do birthday parties. Oh, and they don't boil the water here. I freaked out a bit when they brushed my teeth with tap water, but so far, so good. My stomach is still intact.

It's really cold here too...must be Northern China. Still, they don't bundle me up in all those cloths that me and the other kids in my old neighborhood were forced to wear by our grandparents...why did they do that to us? I mean, it's 21 degrees Celsius outside; beautiful fall afternoon, and I've got three sweaters on over my long underwear and under a snow suit. Can't they see I'm sweating?

Tao Tao

flight

2010-12-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

WE got to the Marriott in Hong Kong a little after midnight last night. It is now 10:35am Hong Kong time and we are waiting to board our 11:40 flight to Newark. Maggie is doing great. Going to Brook alot more and allowing him to carry her when my arms are give out. She still doesn't like him to put her shoes on. Please pray for good weather in Newark and Nashville so there will be no flight delays. We will make a post once home our homecoming and recommendations on lodging, stuff to do and what to bring and not bring. I will say that the Garden Hotel was the best hotel. I would be my first choice above the other common places like the White Swan, China Hotel (marriott) and the Victory. Will go into the why's later.

Here's what we want to do when we get home

2010-12-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

Stefanie: She wants to take a bath in water that she knows isn't contaminated. She wants to drink a glass of wine that she's heard of and isn't made in China. She then wants to eat a hamburger. Before she goes to bed, she wants to brush her teeth with running water.

Brook: He wants to sit in the chair in his bedroom with a beer by his side and watch football...doesn't matter who, just American football. During commercials, he wants to flip among TV stations that are in English. At halftime, he wants to wander into his backyard, maybe the garage, and piddle.

Graham: Misses nothing and would like to bring Nashville to China. Assuming he could somehow import his toys and, in particularly, his Wii...then he'd be cool here. Oh, he'd like to play with his brother and sister too.

2010-12-15T04:47:00.000-08:00

We leave tomorrow!! Can't wait. Emotionally, I'm out of here. Really, as I was thinking about it earlier tonight, I was pretty close to miserable at the end of our Guiyang portion of the trip, but Guangzhou has been nice. Nice city, nice hotel, nice people, and we're getting along nicely with Maggie. Still, I miss Davis and Corinne and I can't wait to see them in person rather than a computer screen. I can't wait to pick them up and hug on them, and give them a big kiss. I can't wait to play little jokes on them when they aren't expecting it. I can't wait to give them little treats to make them happy. I can't wait to love on them.

Really, I don't know how Maggie is going to do when we touch down in Nashville. I think she is pretty well accepting us as parents. I think her foster grandparents prepared her for us pretty well, and I also think it's her personality. However, in Guiyang, I think she grieved, in part, because I think she was expecting us to move in with her foster Grandparents...there was room on the floor. Now, I think she is expecting us to go to the airport to pick up Davis and Corinne to move into this hotel room with us any day now. She's going to be shocked when we touch down and she's suddenly in the minority.

That said...I actually think she is going to do pretty good. She's got a strong personality. Graham having been here is turning out to be more important than I thought it would. I think he'll be the link to Corinne and Davis, and she is going to love to play with them, and them with her. She'll learn to love them, and the rest of us, later.

To the rest of you adults...it will come a little later, but your going to like her and we can't wait for you to meet her...now to bed...packing tomorrow and can't wait.

Brook

Maggie is talking away in this video. Just wish we knew what she was saying

2010-12-14T21:40:00.000-08:00

Bedtime bottle. She doesn't need the extra calories but she enjoys it.

Post swearing in Ceremony at the US Consulate

Maggie having about her 5th cookie. The Chinese Tea lady would not stop giving her cookies even though we kept telling her no more.

Trying out different teas. We all decided Ginseng Oolong is our favorite

Davis, you would be so dissapointed. All these turtles are waiting to be someone's dinner

Maggie loves food, she even snacks on the potty. Here she is having a little dried mango

Graham's Blog

2010-12-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

Today was one of our best days, probably our best. The first thing that we did was get ready and go down to breakfast. Maggie didn’t do so well at that. After that, we went outside to walk around the street then we went to a tea shop and we tried all different types of tea, then we bought tea. Then after that we went back to the hotel and met our guide Aron and went to the US Consulate office for an hour and I had to do school work. Then we came back to the hotel to order our dinner of fried rice. Then we went out to the street again to go look at restaurants to eat at. We went to a restaurant and I ordered cake. I shared part of the cake with Maggie. A lady brought out bread sticks that me and Maggie ate. Three bread sticks that we ate, I had a side, and Maggie had a side and then we ate it down until we were really close to each other and then I gave it to Maggie to finish. When we were leaving, Maggie gave us all a kiss. Then we went down the street to look at other restaurants and then we went back to our hotel. In the hotel, me and Maggie slept in a bed together for maybe 6 minutes while I fed her a bottle. After that, we put Maggie in a crib and she did a lot better than she did a lot of other nights. Then I got in my bed to do some dot to dots, but then mom and dad said I had to get up here and write what I’m writing now. When Maggie gave me a kiss and I was able to give her a bottle, it made me feel good. I wish she could have slept with me tonight and hope that she can sleep with me one day soon.

Graham

Consulate appointment...big steps with Maggie...

2010-12-14T04:04:00.000-08:00

...we think...or hope...or pray. As I type, Maggie is lying in bed with Graham, all cuddled up as Graham feeds her a baby bottle with juice. Now mind you, she's turned a bottle away the past few nights because she didn't want to go to bed, and Graham and Maggie were "rough housing"...big time, just 5 minutes ago so maybe she's playing coy so as not to go to her crib...but still, she's doing it.

See, every other day, she's real good with us in the morning, and a little more distant in the evening...other than "rough house" time. With me, for instance, she'll let me be close in the early part of the day, even reach out for me at times. However, later in the day she starts pushing boundaries, and is generally...well, a 2.5 year old adopted child...think my description of the night on the cruise. Tonight, she was still 2.5, but, for at least tonight, she wasn't so "adopted" behaving.

Oh, we all got our first kiss today. Mine was leaving the consulate. I think I was first...but, I'm pretty sure it was by mistake. Stef was holding her as we went down an escalator a step ahead...and below me...and I kissed the top of her head...she turned around laughing...she laughs at almost everything...and kissed my belly. Hey, it's a start.

Tonight, we were just sick of eating. Seems we're always planning the next meal. We ordered in a simple...aka cheap...fried rice for the kids and peeled a few oranges for them that we bought from a local fruit vendor. Then, we went out walking. We stopped at, of all places, a little Italian place and Stef and I shared a bruchetta and the kids split a tirimisu. Everyone was happy. Stef started asking Maggie for a "ching". She went to kiss Graham, but he got bashful and it didn't happen. Then, she walked around the table and actually kissed Stef on the cheek. As we left, she kissed Graham, and finally got her guts up and kissed me...it really was more of a "mush her face into my cheek while laughing" kind of thing...but I'll take what I can get.

Oh...they just finished the bottle. Maggie rolled over to go to sleep with Graham. Graham whispered, "how about a little more juice". Maggie burped. Stef moved Maggie to the crib.

The visit to the US consulate sort of reminded me of the visit to the medical clinic, but in a better way. I was sad seeing all those despondent kids...and parents who were either wide eyed or still in denial. Again today, I saw all sorts of kids, with all sorts of terrible stories. I overheard a grandfather tell about his new grandson. The child is 10, and he's deaf. He was abandoned at a railroad station when he was 6, then spent the next 4 years in an orphanage. For a moment, for those of you with kids, imagine one of your kids living that life. He was adopted this week by this man's daughter and son in law, also deaf. He said that the child has some real problems. Go figure. I don't know what they are...I didn't hear all the details, and adoptive families don't always need to give all the details...but we all sort of know what their talking about. The child has been hurt..not hurt, but traumatized. Maybe even for the rest of his life. His story, just the bit I know, is heartbreaking. I'm sure if I knew the details, I'd cry.

Today, however, I felt excited. With each child was a set of really great parents. I was in a room with people who were willing to not just support these kids, but bring them into their home and give them the rights and privileges of being called "Smith" or "Jones". We've got it pretty easy this time, Stef and I. Maggie...knock on wood...seems pretty O.K. I'm sure we'll hit rough times, but many of these kids are really fighting their parents right now...or will later, but their parents are bringing them into their families anyway. I helps me understand what it means to be adopted into my Fathers family despite my fighting and pushing back.

A couple notes about Maggie. We hit the 7-11 and bought everyone some treats. The big hit was a chocolate thing, that had a coconut thing on the inside. Maggie loved them. More than she wanted to shove the whole bag into her mouth, she wanted to share those little morsels of goodness with her brother. She laughs when she "poots" on the toilet. She will talk to herself...or maybe she's talking to us...we don't know, when she pretend plays. We took a great video of her doing this and we'll get it up later...no way we'll pull this off tonight. It's cute...and kind of long. When I carry her, sometimes I start telling her that she is a sassy little girl...I can do this because 1) she is, and 2) she has no idea what I'm saying....or maybe she does because she will point her finger in my face and start giving me the "what for" in Chinese. I'd probably be totally embarrassed if I actually knew what she was saying...the locals are probably looking at me and saying "I can't believe those Americans don't reprimand their children". She said her first English word today..."woman". Graham calls her woman when they play rough...tonight, she started saying it back. When she plays by herself, she sings. I always kind of thought they were sweet little children's songs...maybe even a Chinese version of Jesus Loves Me. Found out today that she's singing the Chinese equivalent of the Barney intro song. Oh well. That's it for now.

Brook

2010-12-13T06:18:00.000-08:00

This is going to be a quick post...I think. We're late getting to the computer, and really, need to go to bed. Fortunately, we already put a few pictures up...though there wasn't much as today was kind of a bum around town day. We went to a pedestrian mall. I couldn't figure out why it was so packed, and I mean packed, with working age people on a Monday morning. The guide assured me that they were tourists, as this was a "famous Chinese pedestrian mall". I guess. Didn't buy much as they don't market a lot of cloths to people my size in China.

It was pretty hot today, and terribly muggy. It was hard to think that Christmas was near, and hard to comprehend a "snow storm" back in Tennessee. Once we were ready to head home, Maggie was hungry...and when Maggie is hungry, you better feed her our your going to hear about it. We hit one of those roadside stands that serves mystery meat on a stick (it was chicken...but mystery meat sounds better). She woofed down two, and was mad that Graham and I ate the third and fourth that came with the order. They were greasy, and the grease was that orangey yellow kind of grease that is full of curry, or some similar spice and stains every thing it comes in contact with...and it came in contact with a lot when Maggie was eating it. Mix that with a slight glaze of sweat, and you've got a pretty rough looking kid.

After her nap, we took her to a little play area at the hotel. She and Graham ran around for about 30 to 45 minutes. It took about 5 for her hair to be drenched with sweat. She was all over the place. I think I said it last night, but she is just a kid that loves life, and loves to have fun. Sure, she's a little loud...but it's all fun. Probably, it was her first time on a slide. She hesitated a bit, but took to the little slide pretty quickly. Then, she went to the spiral slide. She hesitated slightly, and wanted my hand to get started...but then it was "game on". Not a lot of fear in this little one. She even tried to climb off the open side of the platform at the top of the slide...in China, they must not have lawyers like we have at home or else there would never be openings at the top of slides that sit 5 feet above a sharp rock ledge that little kids could bash heads on...I was quick to stop her, and she just couldn't figure out why it was a bad idea.

Once Stef and I determined the fun was over, we head to eat. She runs into the restaurant with a head full of wet hair, residual curry grease on her chin, a giant smile less one front tooth, a deep belly laugh, a lot of people staring at her but a lot of life and a couple parents who feel like their just on for a ride and a brother who thinks it's all GREAT. She has hot tea and teaches us how to eat noodles with chop sticks. I wish, I had the camera tonight at dinner. Sort of a duh statement, but she's so Chinese...she held the bowl of noodles to her mouth with one hand while the other wielded chopsticks that manically worked a steady stream of noodles from bowl to mouth. She was in her element...oh, and her eyes were on the center of the table where the rest of us were dishing out our portions of noodles, rice and beef. She was choking food down to make sure she got her fair share of the food on the table...even standing, pointing and talking wildly to make sure we knew that the last portion of fried rice was HERS.

I really think she's going to be great....and I mean this in a couple of ways. First, she's so much fun. She's rowdy, but sweet at the same time. I want to say innocent...but she's a bit of a pistol too, so I'm not sure that word fits. She will be sassy, but then turn around and give you a sly little laugh to show you that she's also kind of joking around...unless she thinks she can get away with it. Secondly, I think she seems like shes going to be pretty good mentally. For those of you with adopted kids, you know what I'm talking about. She was in foster care from the time she was a couple days old, and she really, really attached to these people. I think they were great parents and she really didn't go through some of the disruptions that so many other kids go through. Sure, she's grieving the loss, but that is such a good thing, in the long run. We sort of know the signs, and we aren't seeing them in her now...though we're not so naive to think that they won't poke to the surface at some point. I think she's going to attach to us just fine eventually...and I pray to God that this be the case.

Brook

2010-12-13T04:45:00.000-08:00

Nothing like some street food in Mom's lap

We tried to get a close up to show just how greasy she was...picture just didn't do it

This was the moment we slowed her down long enough to take a picture

Well, looks like there will be a third kid who hides behind the green chair in our bedroom to chew all their mothers gum...Corinne, Davis...you know what I'm talking about...

The Chinese love to pose

2010-12-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Maggie pointing to each family member and calling them by name. She had gone to the couch and pulled out her book and was looking at it talking about each family member. I was a little late in getting the camera on her so I had to get her to reengage in the book. She thinks it is funny when I point to a family member and call them by the wrong name.

The zoo, the cruise and more

2010-12-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

Today started with a rush. We overslept...way overslept. Stef woke up and said, "I think it's a quarter till nine". We were supposed to meet our guide at 10 after eating at the breakfast buffet that also closed at 10. I couldn't believe we slept so late. We never sleep anywhere close to that late. Maggie even tends to get up around 6 or so. I guess we've been running ourselves ragged, and needed to catch up. I admit, last night we were all on edge. Must have been lack of sleep. Advice to those who will make this trip...take a nap once or twice when your kid does. I know, you won't think you need it...neither did we. I'll call for a wake up call tomorrow morning as soon as I'm done with this post.

I didn't take a poll or anything, but I think we all enjoyed the zoo. Like I said last night, there are all sorts of cool things to see and do...I mean, your in China...but you've got a 2.5 year old with you that you adopted a couple days prior. They kind of slow you down. Some places are good places to go with them, some aren't. The zoo is a good place. First...it's a zoo, and as long as the good animals show up...and by that I mean the elephants, tigers, hippo's, etc...not the goats, birds, gophers or other small mammals...you've got a good outing. They did for us, and we got to see them close up...so close up it seemed staged...even the tigers got into a roaring contest with each other. I couldn't imagine how intimidating that would be if you heard it on the plains of Africa at night. Pretty cool in a zoo in China though. It is also a place where the kids can run a bit, be loud and generally burn some energy. Maggie seemed to like it too. She really liked looking at the animals...and running, being loud and burning energy...which she has in bucket fulls.

Tonight, we did the Pearl river dinner cruise. This is not a good place for kids to run, be loud and burn energy...unless you want to really irritate the other guests and risk jumping overboard to save a kid who can't swim. Maggie apparently didn't get the memo. Note to families...the cruise really, is pretty...well, pretty. It is pretty, cruising up the river and looking at all the neon lights of the city. For a moment, you forget the smog and haze that seems to settle over China permanently, and all you see are the bright lights cast against the night's black sky. The dinner is slightly below average...I mean, your going to eat it, but it's nothing to write home about...wait...I just did that. Also, it's a buffet for maybe a hundred people, and it's set in a really tiny horseshoe arrangement, and once the food is set, it's a free for all. The locals descend on the food like vultures to a dead horse. I was a bit intimidated...then I felt challenged and I began to nudge a bit thinking my family isn't going to eat...ok, I was really worried about myself. Then everyone gets their food, and guess what...they bring out all sorts of other dishes. Just crazy, in my way of thinking anyway. Almost lost a hand to a little Chinese kid, probably 12 years old...but I showed him who was boss and got my fried rice before he did...hope his dad wasn't watching.

Maggie decided that she needed to stick to desserts, and threw a bit of a fit when we told her that the 3rd trip the the dessert table wasn't necessary. You see, you're in charge of parenting a child who doesn't recognize you as a parent...doesn't understand you...and is in a developmental stage where they are testing boundaries, and maybe even seeing if they can convince us to let her stay with someone a little better and of her choosing. Put that together with a generally rambunctious kid, and you suddenly have a...well, long cruise. She then wanted to run up stairs and down stairs...up the length of the deck, and down the length of the deck. Oh, and she refused to hold my hand on the steps...which were wet and overlooked a inky river. She was going to do it her way, or else....I was patient for a while...but eventually I took away her control. I picked her up and found a quite area on the boat where she could cry...and scream. I felt good...just being honest...I had regained some control. I'd skip the dinner cruise if I did it again.

Maggie is a lot of fun. She seems to be a kid who enjoys life. Sure, she gets sad, really sad. And she gets mad, really mad. But she gets over it pretty quickly, and then she's got that mischievous smile on her face again....she's looking for a good time. She's reaching over the car seat to tickle my shoulder and bursting out laughing when I turn around and make a funny face...she's reaching for her brother to try to start "something"...anything to have some fun. And she's tough...and fearless. I mean, why walk on the sidewalk, when you can walk on the raised edge of the sidewalk. Fall and bump your head...hey, no big deal. Just go a little faster next time.

She plays sweet too, I don't want to make her out too bad. She loves her tea set and play dough. She plays pretend well...she'll roll the play dough into little green dumplings, put them in a cup, swirl them around with her spoon, dish them out and "eats" them for a mid afternoon snack. She'll share too. I've eaten her dumplings, and washed them down with her tea. She thinks it's hilarious. She plays great like this for a long time. I bet she and Corinne will play with Corinne's kitchen in their bedroom a lot.

We're all getting along better and better too. Again...I'm a distant third in the batting order, and probably will be for a while, though I'm making up ground. This morning, she warmed up to me much faster than before. She was reaching out to me and touching me affectionately, and she's not done this before....the hit she tried to deliver later was the yen, to the affectionate touches yang, I guess. I think she realizes she's falling victim to our "spell" and fights back.

A couple quick notes...she sleeps with her pink blanket all the time...it was a great gift. She'll have her TB test read tomorrow, and according to Stef's professional opinion, it's negative. The air here is horrendous. Beijing and Guangzhou have been a little better than Guiyang, but Stef and I have been dealing with bad allergy and sinus problems and we don't usually have those problems that bad. We've done OK at the local pharmacies, but if your inclined to those problems (Eve...we're thinking of your kids) you better come over prepared. Let's see...Stef probably told me to say a few other things...so maybe check this paragraph later because we might add to it.

Oh, and we're putting up a few videos...it just takes forever to get them uploaded. The one up now, we posted just so you can see her play. She has so much fun. In the next video...which will be up later...she started looking at a picture book of all of us, and she was explaining to herself, I guess, who all the people in the picture were...she called me Ba Ba, Stef Ma Ma, Graham, Gua Gua, Davis, Gua Gua, and Corinne Je Je (probably mispelled the words, but point is she was saying it correctly). It was really cute, she even said it with a bit of conviction...and we really appreciated hearing it. Stef grabbed the camera, and got her to repeat what she was saying.

Hey, thanks to all who have helped with Corinne and Davis while we're away. It means a lot to us and you all have gone out of your way...we know it, and we are so thankful.

Brook

How can I get over this railing?

Everyone loves the elephants

I figured out how to get Graham to look at me...not giving away my secrets

Guess I have to take my own pictures

Even the giraffes stare at us...are we that funny looking?

Video

2010-12-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Graham and Maggie playing. We will try to upload 1 more.

2010-12-11T18:36:00.000-08:00

Leaving for Guangzhou...we're with a couple other relieved American families

Getting the picture taken at the start of the medical exam....

...waiting for our turn...not so bad...

Graham never new anything was going on

So far, so good...

She's no longer a happy camper

Her first bath...this picture is SO Maggie

This is great...just don't get my head wet

Bath time is great...except the cleaning part...and the getting out part

Good to be in Guangzhou

2010-12-11T04:45:00.001-08:00

You know, I felt conflicted leaving Guiyang. It was a tough place to be as an American tourist. There was nothing Western about the city at all. Essentially, no one understood a lick of English, it was dirty, smelly...though, oddly, I kind of got used to the sour stench of the city by week's end...very poor, and as much as I'll eat about anything put in front of me that isn't still alive (and that really is more of a guideline rather than a rule), I just didn't like the food there. It wasn't funky, or scary...I just didn't like the taste...it tasted like the city smelled.

It was a relief leaving Guiyang...yet, on the last night, we played in a pedestrian park that sits between our hotel and the river that runs through the heart of the city...as we walked home, I looked at little Tao Tao...she was so happy, so excited, having so much fun...and I was about to take her out of a city that she LOVED...it was her home. If you know Tao Tao, and you know Guiyang, you'd understand this. I understand where we are taking her, I understand what is better and what is not...I also understand that people from New York think Franklin is the sticks. I was sad, and she was clueless.

All that said...I'M SO HAPPY TO BE IN GUANGZHOU! Whew. It even felt good to say. This really is a nice city. It has a life to it that you expect in a big city...and even though I'm pretty much a small city, Southern sort of guy...I like this in small doses. It's clean...relative to China, at least...and they have pictures for all the food options on the menu, so I'm OK.

We're getting to know Maggie more and more each day, and she's getting to know us better too. I think she had a really awesome foster Grandmom...and it's obvious that Maggie loved her so much. She grieves hard...hard at times...but in a healthy way. She wakes up from a nap, for instance, and she is sad...really sad. This is typical. Then, after a few minutes, she cries. Hard. She calls out for her Lei Lei, and Stef rocks her in her lap. Once it is out, she's on her way...about her business. I think her grief is real...and I think she is really dealing with it. This makes me think that she'll be pretty healthy...mentally.

A young Chinese lady told our guide the other day that Maggie is so lucky to have a "foreign" family...they know we're not Chinese, but they don't immediately know we're American, which I find odd in my obvious USA centric sort of thinking...I started to tell our guide that the lady was wrong...Maggie would be better off if somehow she could stay with her foster family...but I wasn't sure it would be appropriate, so in my Southern style...I stayed quite and smiled.

Maggie, on one hand, is shy. On the other (big) hand, she has an extremely strong personality. I know those statements don't make much sense, but a lot now doesn't. She shys away from people when they talk to her. She covers her eyes with her hand to hide...but she peeks out the other side. Stef is the one she's attached to...and Stef is doing a great job with her.

Maggie needs to be told "no" a good bit. I feel a little uncomfortable doing that, considering the circumstances, but knowing Maggie as I do...well, let me just stay it needs to be done. Stef really does a good job with this. Me...not so much. Tonight at dinner, I decided that Maggie had enough fried bean curd with peanut sauce, so I moved the plate to the person who actually ordered the dish...Stef. Well, Maggie didn't appreciate my insensitivity, so she threw her chop sticks at me. With cat-like quickness, I was able to dodge, and swat them away as the Chinese man behind me snickered in an international sign of "thank god it's you and not me". I semi-panicked...Maggie screamed Chinese words that everyone except us frustrated white people understood. Stef, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber (not really, but in comparison to me she was, at least). She grabbed Maggie up, and whisked her outside the restaurant. I don't know exactly what went down between the two of them...I stuck my face in a bowl of beef noodles in spicy broth in an attempt to hide my shame...but every time after that, when Maggie was about to get out of hand, Stef would gesture to the outside of the restaurant, and Maggie was suddenly in control.

We had the medical exam today. I know I saw this last time, but the scene at the medical exam is kind of surreal. You're surrounded by families who are so happy to have finally been united with their little angel that they've waited for, for so long. You see little Chinese kids with T shirts that say "Little Princess" and such...but the faces are heartbreaking. If you look past the Tshirts and American tourists with fanny packs and digital cameras, there are kids whose lives have been turned upside down, who are devastated and wonder who are these odd people who've taken me away from "my home". The medical visit made me sad. On the other hand, I think of little Corinne, and how much I love her, and how much she loves me...how she sneaks into our room early in the morning hoping that we're still in bed so she can cuddle with me...and how I wait a few more minutes most mornings hoping she shows up...and I'm suddenly happy because I know that is the future for these kids.

Tomorrow I think we're going to a zoo....I hope we enjoy it. These are odd trips. There are so many awesome things you see and experience...but you JUST ADOPTED A KID!!! Stress is high in our hotel room, so I ask that you pray that we be calm, be safe, enjoy our time here, bond as a family and enjoy each other before we GET HOME SAFELY!

Oh...a couple more odd tidbits...I thank our government for infringing on our rights to smoke in public places....I also thank God for Starbucks and McDonald's...when I pointed out a McDonald's to Graham, he said he didn't like McDonald's. I said "me neither...but I sure like looking at the Golden Arches".

Brook

PS...trouble with pictures tonight...I'll give it one more shot and then I'm going to bed. Otherwise, it will be tomorrow morning...or tonight for you guys....and I'm putting up a couple short videos this time too.

2010-12-09T04:51:00.000-08:00

The "chinese squat"

This photo depicts Maggie's personality - why use stairs when you can go up this fun slope.

My brother is so funny and I really don't understand why I have to sit down while riding in the van.

Maggie and Graham running to the next spot

At a Waterfall park and cave

Inside the cave

Brook and Graham walking out on rocks to the waterfall

There are a couple of things that describe Maggie.
1. She has the stamina of an Ox. We walked a couple of miles today through caves, parks, ect. She had to walk approximately 250 steps today. She preferred to walk instead of being carried. Pretty much at all times she prefers walking instead of being carried and we do alot of walking.

2. She always has dirty hands. She rubs her hands over every dirty surface

3. She is extremely messy when she eats - food is everywhere and she is wearing 1/2 of it.

4. She likes to sing under her breathe

5. She can NOT play with markers - like the food it is everywhere

6. She plays really well inside and will sit around and play with toys, but if she is outside she is climbing and moving. She is not fearful of heights nor ledges nor steps or anything. She can move fast and loves to run with Graham.

I think she has some rough and tumble in her. Her gross motor movement in general is not refined. Think more like Mac truck. She has good fine motor skills and has quite a bit of hand strength.

Brook is tired tonight. We all colds we think from the pollution. Tomorrow evening we head to Guangzhou. Have to say we are ready to go. We miss home and look forward to the ease and comfort that Guangzhou has to offer.

If you are coming to adopt and are adopting a toddler I highly recommend bringing a plastic tea set. Maggie plays with it for hours on end.

The how to's of the Chinese potty with a 2 year old

2010-12-08T23:41:00.000-08:00

I am still working on perfecting the "potty technique" with a 2 year old. I was quite excited to discover Maggie was potty trained and we wouldn't have to mess with diapers. What I didn't think about is what using a public toilet in China with a child would mean. If you have been to China you know that the potty is a hole in the middle of a stall minus the toilet paper. When you take a child to the potty you have to hold them over The Hole. My first attempt at this Maggie peed all over my shoes - thank goodness they were waterproof. After that episode I realized I didn't have her legs positioned quite right. On our second attempt I knew I should pull her legs way back and up - think lady birthing a baby. This time around her pee shot up and soaked the backside of her pants that hung around her ankles. In all of this you have to fumble around for the toilet paper in your pocket and make a dash to wipe pre-dribble. I thought I would be much smarter to have the roll already ready in my hand, but in maneuvering and holding 28 pounds the roll dropped and rolled out the stall (TP is a hot commodity so I was so disappointed). I've got about 8 more days to many to work on this. Would love any tips

A funny story

2010-12-08T22:48:00.000-08:00

The first whole day with Maggie, we put her in her crib for an afternoon nap without a diaper...she's potty trained, but we were told she still wears a diaper at night. We were on task for the nighttime, but we haven't done diapers in a pretty long time, so we just weren't thinking during nap time. Well, she wet her crib.

We had the guide talk to the front desk to have someone clean the sheets and give us a new mattress, but later that evening, the wet sheets and mattress were still there, so I called downstairs. Now, in Beijing, the hotel staff spoke pretty decent English. Here...not so much. When you speak, you have to talk very basically, and you can't use any local phrases or they simply have no idea what you are saying. I knew this when I placed the call.

Well, when I called downstairs, I told them my daughter had an accident in her crib....as soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to pull them back in. I knew I had made a mistake. The problem is, you can't just hit the rewind button...nor can you backtrack and try to explain yourself...that's just too much talking...but that didn't stop me. I tried to explain that she wet her crib...."crab?", "crab?" Assuming they couldn't pronounce crib, I said "yes, the baby crib"...then they said..."ACCIDENT!...BABY CRABS??". I said..."ugh", and just hung up. I looked at Graham and said, "I think, they think I said Maggie was hurt by baby crabs in our room". Needless to say, he thought it was hilarious.

Moments later, a very worried manager was knocking on our door. I sheepishly let her in, and showed her what I meant and tried to explain that we use the term "accident" for reasons other than what they thought. She was very nice, and we all had a good laugh. Obviously, they had no idea why those crazy Americans had baby crabs in their room. We've since come to find that the 5 western families in Guiyang in this hotel are all on one floor...all by ourselves. I guess we are high maintenance...or maybe they are worried we'll offend the other guests. Probably, both.

Brook

2010-12-08T05:44:00.001-08:00

Are they taking my picture again...

I could connect with this guy...bored and wasting time along the river

The family...see the "significant building" in the background...

And here it is

Walking up

View from on top...I was looking out this window as the guide was telling me of the governments strict building codes around this spot to protect the view of this important, historical building...I'm always struck by the contrasts and contradictions in China

A close up...you'll see it in other pictures, and I don't know if I've mentioned it or not...but she has chicken pox..or she is getting over it....so she has marks on her face and body. More noticeable in other pictures

So, spinning a top on the sidewalk by hitting it with a whip is a big past time here...I was a natural...or at least that is what I think they were saying

Grahams playing...she's not yet warmed up to toys...might mean she has to engage us...sad face

But, we're trying

I told Graham not to mess with these women...those are swords

The Family...again

How'd he get my honey bun?

Finally, got my honey bun

Think they have a honey bun?

Made it to the top of the mountain...Maggie had some help

View of the Temple...word is the monks live in those buildings in the background

Davis, this one is for you. The Chinese buy turtles at the food market, and then release them at the temple for good luck...I think it's guilt

This is the "look away" that we get from her so often when she is trying to ignore us

Nestling in for a car ride

Sound asleep on Graham's lap...this picture makes her complexion look bad...the chicken pox aren't that bad

Mountains, decay and smog...on a sunny day

Contrasts of the city

Playing with her tea set...finally

And Legos...

And Play dough

She'll kill me for these kind of pictures one day

I tried to get a picture of the "attempt to hide a smile" face...not a great picture...maybe tomorrow

Still playing at bedtime...I love how they sit like that.

Good Night....

Monkey park, and other musings

2010-12-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

We went to the monkey park today. It's a popular park outside the city centered around a Budihst temple which sits on top of a mountain with a lake at the mountain's foot. At the base of the mountain, the older Chinese generation are seen exercising...ti chi, ti chi swords, dancing and swimming in the ice cold lake. Actually, this was the first body of water I've seen in China that looked pretty clean...but I still wouldn't swim in it. As you walk the road up the mountain, the monkeys come out of the trees and the Chinese begin to feed them, what looked to me like Honey Buns. The more experienced monkeys even took them out of the plastic wrapper. We walked, and took pictures. At one point, I was trying to take a picture of Graham and Stef while carrying Maggie. Maggie was watching the viewfinder and pointed at Graham and said "ga ga", or whatever the word is for "brother". We also walked through the temple...didn't see any monks but I was promised they were there...somewhere. All I saw were Chinese paying for entrance into the temple, where they could pay for incense sticks to burn to various gods, and stuff money into boxes for other gods. I guess the monks show up once the boxes are full.

Maggie's getting better and better. She is still quite and bashful, but you can see that she wants to open up. When she forgets to ignore us, you'll catch her talking. Tonight, as I carried her home from dinner she even started singing. Of course, we had to act like we didn't notice, but that isn't too difficult when she doesn't know what your saying.

She also started playing with toys today. We brought a few things with us, and bought a few inexpensive toys. She and Graham played on the floor for a long time tonight. She played with a little tea set, and would fight back a smile anytime one of the three of us tried to act silly. Graham finally got her to laugh out loud when he took her cat and played as though it was drinking from his tea cup...of course, she caught herself, and the laugh was cut short...still cute though. When she fights back a smile, it really is pretty funny looking and if we laugh, she turns her head and tries to hide behind a hand by covering her eyes.

She is very talkative...and even though we don't know what she is saying, you can tell that her speech is very advanced for a child her age. Several of the Chinese have commented on this too. I hate to think that she would lose her ability to speak Mandarin, but I also don't know how to make sure she not only keeps what she knows, but also help her develop her Mandarin while also learning English. I know some of you have older adoptive children. Maybe you can give us some advise.

Quick sociology lesson...the vast majority of Chinese are of the Han ethnicity. The rest are one 55 various "minorities". Guizhou province is known for their significant number of minorities, making up about 40% of the population. We'll probably never know, but we think that she is likely Buyi...partially at least...or maybe even Miao. Tomorrow, we're going to visit a Buyi villiage, which I think will be very interesting. One tidbit...the Buyi eat dog...yep, dog. They think it keeps them warm in the winter...whatever works, I guess. As a matter of a fact, on December 22, all of Guizhou province celebrates some sort of provincial holiday by eating dog. Too bad we're leaving early.

Oh, and after griping so about no Starbucks, we found the American run coffee shop. It was really a nice treat to sit and relax in something familiar.

Also, and Stef wants me to say this...and I'm to lazy to see if I've already said it...but she's potty trained. As a matter of a fact, Stef was out today, and it was me and Graham in the room with Maggie. In typical "Brook in charge fashion" I drifted off to sleep. Something woke me suddenly, and I asked Graham where Maggie was. In typical "Graham not paying attention" fashion, he had no idea. She was in the bathroom, taking care of #2 all by herself. We'll get into more of these details down the road, but we've come to learn a little more about her that makes me really think we've got a sweetie on our hands....here are a couple: She was prone to answer the phone at her foster parents home. OK, maybe that doesn't mean much to you, but when I see this little girl walk around my room and think of her answering the phone in a proper way, it makes me laugh inside. Also, whenever her foster grandparents would leave the home, she always said, in a very proper way something along the line of "travel safe Grandmother, and return home safely soon"...also, she loves to wear a backpack. Apparently her niece....her foster brothers daughter...goes to kindergarten and wears a backpack. She would tell her foster grandmother...in a very proper way..."grandmother, when I am older I will wear a backpack and I will go to school too"...as I type it, it doesn't seem to have the same impact, but it is all pretty funny when you hear it...you'll have to trust me.

Goodnight,

Brook

Guiyang...what else is there to say

2010-12-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

This morning we went to visit, according to our guide, "our signature building"...singular. Didn't take long. He was proud, so we were polite, but the best part of the short trip was simply getting out and walking...

Random statement...I can't help but think it is odd to walk around town in China and listen to Christmas music...Christian Christmas music...sung by people who can't understand and mispronounce the words, and generally, are professed Atheists and Buddhists.

Maggie is getting a little better all the time. It's hard to know what is Maggie, and what is the situation...but I retrospect, Corinne showed us glimpses of Corinne on that trip three years ago. We see them now. Stef and I wonder about Maggie, and what she will be like. Her foster Grandmother said she was a bit shy...or maybe she said quite. I' m not sure about shy, maybe...but I can see quite...but still strong, and a bit mischievous too, in a sweet way though. She has a sly look she'll flash every now and then...I think she'll have a very cute personality.

She's started to reach for Stefanie's hand, and plays with her necklace when she gives her a bottle. I'm third in the pecking order behind Graham. That's OK. It bothered me with Corinne, but I was prepared this time around and honestly expected it. Now, if I work hard...well, I can't get her to smile...but I can get her to try not to smile. Walking home from dinner tonight, I played like I was accidentally brushing her head against the tree limbs that hung low over the side walk. She fought her smile so hard, she eventually stuffed her jacket into her mouth. I'll get her tomorrow.

Several of the comments mention that she seems "well fed"...can't say it isn't true. She's healthy, for sure. Assuming the scales are correct, she's a cool 28lbs. She wears a size 7.5 shoe (her feet look like Davis' feet...small clubs residing at the end of a leg) and is just shy of a size 3T. We brought Corinne's cloths, so most everything is tight to say the least. The good thing is that it points to a really great foster program in Guiyang...more on that later.

We met an individual today who raised Maggie for the first 6 weeks of her life...minus a day or two. At the time, the lady was in Xinyang, Maggie's birth city. She made it a habit of stopping by the local orphanage once, or twice a week to check in on the kids, and the women who took care of them. She had just come back from being gone, and she said there was a particularly small newborn child in the orphanage. Well, turns out the child wasn't just small...the child was malnourished. Xinyang is a remote, probably rural city in China and the women were, frankly, ignorant. They were mixing the formula to look like breast milk. They thought the formula mixed correctly looked too thick, so they watered it down and the kids didn't get what they needed. She said she didn't want to be the no-it-all who barged in and told everyone what to do, so she didn't say anything. The child died. I am sure she was crushed, and felt terribly guilty. This is reality in an orphanage, though.

The next couple days, she was by the orphanage again, and a new little baby was wrapped up and placed in bed next to two older children. Immediately, she asked if she could take the baby home. The orphanage director (who Stef and I met) was away, so she asked the nannies to call him. On the phone, he said that she could take her, but since he was away, she would have to come back a day or so later to get her. She explained that it would be too inconvenient for her to come back, and insisted that she be allowed to take the baby TODAY. He agreed. The baby was Maggie...she called her Ruby because she was so precious.

She explained that Maggie was probably a day or two old because her umbilical cord was still fresh, not dried at all. This happened the first week of April....Maggie's paperwork says her birthday is February 20. If I had to guess, China simply didn't care enough to try to get her birth date correct. One day, I suspect she'll want those months back.

After 6 weeks, she was placed in the foster care program in Guiyang which is run by a Christian. All the foster parents in the program are Christians. We were told they meet weekly to fellowship and praise God together. God has been all around Maggie from the start, beside her all along her way. I pray that one day she knows how protected she was during those years.

I thought this was a great story. It shows God's active hand in her life, and His concern for the details. I feel certain that Maggie was planned to be a part of our family before she was born. When I think of the details that led to her sleeping in the crib, right now, in our room as I type this, I am astonished. Maggie "should" have ended up just like the poor little child before her...but that wasn't God's plan. This is an example of why we should praise God for the details....I tend to grumble...forgive me.

Brook

P.S...can't get the pictures to upload...will have Stef work on it in the/our morning.

Graham talking about the adoption

2010-12-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

We rode up the elevator with Maggie and her foster Grandmother. When we got up to the room Maggie didn't even want to look at me. When her foster Grandmother left, and gave Maggie to us, she screamed and cried a lot. When we got to the car, Maggie did a lot better. That night, Maggie did not eat anything. When we got to the room, me and dad tried to get food and toys out to make her stop crying. Maggie also went to the door and packed up all her stuff like she was getting ready to go, and she was yelling "lie lie" or whatever the Chinese word for grandmother is. When I showed her the pictures of her foster grandmother, she started to talk for about 20 minutes straight. After she talked, we had to put her in a diaper, but she started to scream and cry again. Then we went to bed.

When we got Maggie I felt sad because she missed her foster Grandmother so much. I also felt sad because she won't see her foster Grandmother again, probably. I hope things will get better and things are kind of getting better with her, but she still won't talk to us very much. All she is doing is being really quite and looking at her books and pictures.

Graham

Day 2's in the books

2010-12-06T05:16:00.001-08:00

Well, she slept great last night, thank God...and by "she", I mean Stefanie. She's been up at 3 every morning until last night. I absolutely believe that your prayers helped. It was, in my humble opinion, stress that was keeping her from sleeping, and it's not like we didn't have stress in bucket fulls last night, but she slept anyway. We're moving into the marathon part of the trip, and without rest, well, I guess she'll make it, but it would be really, really rough.

Maggie slept too. After the grief, she was a chatter box before she went to bed, talking, laughing and all the rest. Of course, she was calling out for her foster grandmother the whole time...or she could have just been telling us about her...we really have no idea...we just know we heard her name about 1,000,000 times last night. This morning, she woke and called for her one time. No answer, obviously, and then she went into her shell.

I remember Corinne doing this too...a lot that is going on is bringing back memories. We traveled with 14 families that trip, and there were 14 little Chinese zombies walking or being carried all around. I kind of think they/she is going into survival mode. She doesn't particularly like us, but she knows that she needs us to stay alive, so she'll follow us around, stay quite, but she certainly isn't giving us anything. She'll hold our hand, but doesn't really grip your hand. She allows us to carry her, but she leans away from our body. She looks at us intently, until we realize she's looking, and then she turns her head 180 degrees the other way. Oh well...normal stuff, I've come to learn...and having watched Corinne go through it, I know that it will come out ok, but it's really sad too. Poor thing. I wish that I could communicate with her, and tell her that it will be ok, but I can't. She can't even interpret our actions, much less our words.

Anyway, in the morning we went to breakfast at the hotel. With Corinne, she would make me peel her grapes, try to hide food by dropping it under the table and acting like she was asleep...heck, she still does those things. Not Maggie. She seems to get a little pep in her step when it's time to eat. At least meal time isn't an issue. Like father, like daughter, I guess.

Not much else today...walked around the city, ate at a local restaurant....oh, and no Starbucks or McDonald's which is as odd in China as it would be in Franklin. We were told there were two coffee shops in town. One owned by a Chinese person...word is it's terrible. One owned by an American...word is it's pretty good. I'll scout it out in the morning.

Hit Walmart...yep, no Starbucks or McDonalds, but old Sam Walton's figured out the Guiyang market. Odd place...completely underground. I asked why, they guide told me the rent was cheap.

Just too tired to go out for dinner, really, too tired for dinner at all. We ordered one adult and one child's meals in the hotel, and shared them. It's hard to understand, but just being here is exhausting. Between the challenge of the city, and the challenge of the child...you're just spent at the end of the day. If you haven't done it, don't underestimate it. I've even done it before, knew what to expect, and I forgot how draining a day can be.

Couple hints to the future traveler. Skype is great...ok, so maybe everyone in the world except me already knows this, but it is really nice...and really free...to video call your family back home, especially when you've left kids at home. My kids like it too...as a matter of a fact, I just got skyped...is that how you say it...by Davis, my 6 year old son. Also, we brought a blow up mattress and pump, and it has been great. The other option if you are traveling with an older child is to pay additional for a roll away bed. The blow up mattress is free and disappears during the day...thanks Scott and Sharla for the advise.

Again, Graham is doing great and Maggie is doing well with him. He wants to be the one that does all the "good" things with her like hold her hand or feed her foods she likes...and we get to do the things that might make her cry. One of those is messing with her pictures. She holds on to those pictures, and frets over them like they are diamonds and pearls. Of course, she loves the pictures of her foster family, but she does the same with the pictures of Stef, me, Graham, Davis and Corinne.

She picked out a book at Walmart. I just wanted her to "want" something...anything and I was going to get it for her...thank God it was small and cheap. She held on to it for dear life, and played with it for quite a while when back at the hotel. She was quite all day, I can't think of one word she said today other than calling for her foster grandmother when she woke all the way until tonight when she played with the book in the hotel room and whispered a couple words...wonder what she said.

Big day tomorrow...actually, not. We're hanging out until Friday waiting on the passport in a city whose name means something like "precious sunlight"...because you see it so infrequently that any glimpse is "precious". I'm just trying to convince myself that it is fog.

Brook

2010-12-05T23:53:00.000-08:00

All worn out...Maggie too

Good big Brother. Graham loved to hold her in his lap, hold her hand as they walked, feed her, and try to make her happy. I hope she gives him even a little smile soon. He's a good boy.

Ceremony making the adoption official...didn't realize what was going on at first...couldn't figure out why the surrounded us with flags at the time. It was a nice staff. Really seemed to respect their jobs. Wish I had a picture of the orphanage director. Nice guy. Gave Maggie a little gift...Oh, and I walked around the corner and he was in the office with all the other officials smoking from a "water bong"...literally...but it was tobacco...honestly. Said the water filters out the nicotine. Someone needs to pass this bit of info to the FDA...

Finally got a picture of the front of the adoption center...site of the "hostage escape"...see what I meant by the nondescript entrace?

Yep...she eats with chop sticks...and speaks Chinese...who'd of thunk it?
Looks better cleaned up, too...another dash of obvious.

This was the morning...I slowly got her out of her layers of cloths, and she was starving and dehydrated from sweating through the night...as much as the Chinese don't understand why we don't bundle our kids up, I don't understand their tendency to put them in snow suites in July.

Still asleep...our pictures are in reverse order if you haven't figures it out yet...too lazy to fix it...we worked her shoes off in the middle of the night...but the 18 lbs of cloths and bag of stuff are still with her.

Waiting in the hall, packed and ready to leave...this was "gotcha" night...had enough of us already. She's got a thing for leaning against walls and sort of kicking on hip to the side in a pose. Kinda cute.

Photos

2010-12-05T15:21:00.001-08:00

In the elevator

Brother, Mom, Dad and Foster Grandmother

Graham is trying to get her to play with him

Maggie with her Foster-grandmother

Hard to take a good picture with a shaky hand

She held her hand over her face to try to hide from us

Not a happy camper - the blue is from M&M's

Well...I'm the dad of 4 kids

2010-12-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

What a night! So, we meet the guide and head to the adoption center where it will all "go down". I want to go back and get a picture of the building...I mean, if you were walking down the street you never would have thought this hole in the wall, office space in a dirty downtown row of shops and vendors was a government run adoption department. I forgot to snap the picture on the way in, and the way out was more like a hostage evacuation so no time for pictures...but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

We walk into the dark, open office space and head to the elevator. I'm lagging a little behind Stef and Graham who are already in the elevator when a man starts yelling at me...I figured he wanted us to hold the elevator, so that's what I do. I gets in, and then there is sudden mahem...all I here is "your baby"...I fumble for the camera, and snap a quick picture as in walks Maggie with her foster mother! The next 45 seconds were a really, really odd elevator ride as everyone is staring at each other, and Maggie is obviously anxious.

Then we go into the room where we are supposed to have our "gotcha" moment. It was really, pretty nice...at first anyway. We had a great meeting with the foster mother, asked a bunch of questions and generally, had a great conversation...translated, of course. She seems to be a very nice lady and really, really cared for Maggie. She had Maggie since Maggie was 44 days old, and they've nicknamed her Tao Tao. She send Maggie to us with some pictures, a backpack, and a red sweater outfit that she had knited her all stuffed into a plastic bag...and the 18 lbs of cloths that Maggie was wearing.

All went well until she left...then it got rough, really rough. Maggie was devastated. It makes me want to cry as I type thinking about how heart broken she was and how scared she must have been. The foster mother said that Maggie was fully aware of what was happening. And she was loud...and persistent...and strong. Stef held her while I signed some documents. I must admit that I could tell, even though they were Chinese characters, that Stef was going to have to sign too...which meant I had to hold Maggie who was crying, screaming, kicking...and I was intimidated. Anyway, I didn't have a choice, and to my surprise, she calmed down a bit when I held her. Then we left...and Maggie was a mess again. We rushed onto the dark street, and into the van as the crowd on the sidewalk grew. I was a mess of nerves, though I didn't admit it until Stef told me that she felt like she could throw up...and I confessed that I could too.

We needed diapers, formula and supplies. I was unable to find the Walmart...which is across the street from our hotel...earlier, so one of us had to take Maggie to the hotel...the other went shopping. I handed Stef my wallet. (Un)fortunately, Maggie did pretty well when I held her and Stef was the first to admit that she was ready to puke, so I was on Maggie duty. I recruited Graham, who was a trooper, to help me with her and we sent Stef shopping.

We tried to give her candy, crackers, cheerios, toys, crafts, dolls, money...anything...and she wanted nothing that had anything to do with us. We left her alone, and the poor thing tried to wiggle into the space between the bedside table and bed in an attempt to get away from us and hide. I decided to give her space but the crying got the best of me. I mean, a dad wants to hold and sooth their child...so I tried...but I only made the situation worse. I put her down again, and then Stef showed up and I was glad to have a wingman, not that either of us knew what to do, but at least we could mess everything up together.

Eventually, Maggie packed her belongings in her plastic bag and moved to the hallway leading to the door, and stayed there. If we didn't look at her, she might look at us, but that was about it. She tried to "escape" and I told Stef not to worry because the door was too heavy for her to open. Then I got up to pull Maggies fingers out of the door jam...and locked the door...and closed the latch. I'll figure this out eventually...

Maggie was crying for her dad...and then she pooped on the potty. Apparently, the word for "I have to poop" and "dad" are similar and I didn't pick up on the nuances of a 3 year old's Chinese...huh...I bet a Chinese woman came up with that word.

She stayed in her hall until she found her picture book. She opened it and laughed, and Graham took another picture book to her, and suddenly the dam began to break. We laughed, as she laughed. She pointed to pictures of her foster family and "told" Graham all about their likes, dislikes, personalities, games she likes to play with them, etc. Problem was that it was all in Chinese....

About that time, we skyped with family back home. It was really good to see Davis and Corinne. We miss them so much. She sort of ignored the computer screen until one of them would yell "Tao Tao"...and then she would glace at the screen. She absolutely knew that the kids taking to her were "supposed" to be her brother and sister, and recognized them from the pictures. Of course, she did her best to ignore them too...even putting the picture book over her face. As we talked, Maggie worked her way back into the room and all was well, relatively, until it was diaper time. She knew that a diaper meant she was staying the night...she cried, packed up her things and headed back to to the door.

Well, we eventually worked her into a crib that sits by the bed. Right now, she's sleeping in her 18 lbs of cloths with her plastic bag of stuff and picture books. Dear God, let her sleep. She needs it and we need it.

Two last thoughts...as hard as it is, I am thankful that she is grieving as it means she knows how to attach. Over time, she will with us too. Second, I really appreciate having Graham with us. He's great to watch in China, generally (he's so comfortable that he wanted to go outside the hotel by himself to fly his remote control helicopter), but he also is really, really great with and for Maggie right now.

Pictures tomorrow...way to tired right now...maybe well have them up for you to see on your Sunday night.

Brook

T minus 1 hour

2010-12-04T23:39:00.000-08:00

Well, we're sitting, and we're waiting. Got to Guiyang around noon, checked into the hotel shortly thereafter, and we'll meet our guide to go to get Maggie at 4:30. Stef wanted a Starbucks, so Graham and I went looking. In Beijing, there is a Starbucks about every 100 yards, certainly I could find one here. We walked a couple city blocks...Graham counted over 300 "stares that he saw".

Here is a quote I found on another blog concerning Guiyang:

"For foreigners looking for a somewhat gritty and challenging experience in China that forces them to become self-reliant, develop a taste for spicy food and Baijiu, and learn to live and think like the Chinese, it can be a great adventure."

He goes on to say that for a city its size, Guiyang is so "remote" there isn't even a McDonalds or Starbucks. Oh, well...hoping that isn't the case. Just paid about $7 for a cup of coffee in the hotel, and was told by the bartender to check out the 6th floor. There is a "spa", he told me as he grinned. Apparently I can get something called a wicky wicky...something may be lost in the translation but I think it must be a back rub.

P.S., and on a more serious side, Stef is asking for prayer for sleep and energy. She's been up every night/morning around 3 and can't go back to sleep. She's miserably tired to the point that she's ready to mix medication with wine. Problem is we're about to have s toddler in the room that doesn't like us.

Brook

2nd full day in Beijing/ foster family

2010-12-04T04:21:00.000-08:00

A quick post tonight we are all pretty zonked. Graham had a great time at the Great Wall. At first he was pretty nervous about the steepness but came around. After the wall we went to visit Corinne's foster family. They are so kind and loved her so much. Her foster mom and sister teared up a few times, especially when they talked about her last night and last morning with them. They told us a few stories about her. When I came home I typed them in a word document so I won't forget them. We in turn shared stories about her and they loved to her what she is doing. Corinne did 2 drawings for them and they loved them. Her foster mom told me to tell Corinne that she still misses her very much. It was a sweet visit and one that we all enjoyed. They funny part is they kept feeding Graham. We had eaten lunch right before coming so he was already full. While at their home he was fed 2 banana's, 1 orange, a bunch of chessnuts, dried mango, sunflower seeds, 3 cups of hot tea, and some type of chip snack. He was sweet and thought he should eat all they gave him so not to be rude.

Corinne's Foster Family

Corinne's Foster Family's Home

Beijing Day 1

2010-12-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, we've made it through day 1. Stef and I have "done" Beijing, so, in my mind today was more about Graham. We started out with breakfast. Graham tried almost everything on the buffet. His favorites for breakfast were miso soup, dim sum and fruit. A breakfast of Chinese champions. Then we hit the Forbidden City and a number of other sites. Graham was stoked...and Stef was cold...or so that seemed to be the theme of the day...and no joke, it's cold.

We did the Hutong tour and ate lunch in the home of a Chinese resident of the Hutong area, which is kind of like there old city...but, remember, 100 years ago was like last week to Franklin...so it was really old. I thought that was a pretty neat experience. I know it was touristy, but you felt like you were really seeing China rather than some of the other places the tour guides typically take you. Food was good, people were nice, etc.

We also hit a "knock-off" mall. Wow, that was an experience. It was littered with sales people that would make Gordon Gecko proud. Maybe that isn't the best analogy, but it's late and I'm too tired to think of a better one. Point is they were very aggressive...nice...but aggressive. Walking down each isle was like running a gauntlet of people calling out "hello" want a belt, want a bag, buy a silk dress for the pretty lady...and they didn't take no for an answer. They would grab you by your arm and gently tug you to their booth that looked eerily similar to almost every other booth in the building. Surprised, I'm sure, but we walked out with several "precious" items. There was a toy store next door, and Graham got to put his bargaining skills to test. He was kind of funny trying to play the uninterested buyer. But, he left with a great deal on a pair of remote control helicopters. One for him, one for Davis. Corinne, we'll buy something for you soon...

Last time we were in Beijing, we skipped the acrobat show because we were just too tired. This time we went. Graham and I enjoyed it...Stef slept. Picked up take out Chinese (which takes on a totally different meaning here) and hit the hotel. No idea what I was ordering because it was all in Chinese...go figure...but it was really great food. We're not part of a big tour group this time, so they're not taking us to the touristy Beijing Duck Dinner spots...I think our guide took us to the spot where she wanted to pick up dinner to take home for herself. When we got to the hotel, Graham went into a coma, and Stef has finally gone to sleep...again.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be a little more fresh, and can post more. We put a few pictures up, but not too many. Tomorrow we go to the wall where we were told to expect it to be about 20 degrees colder...here's to hoping she was exaggerating.

Brook

From Graham

2010-12-02T16:26:00.000-08:00

This is Graham writing. The first plane ride was not good because I threw up and it was really bumpy. The second plane ride which was the big one and it was good. They had video games and lots of movies. I watched Despicable Me and Wall-E. I read 63 pages of my new Garfield book "Potbelly of Gold". When we got to China we went to the baby home. I played with a baby named Mei Mei. You can see a picture of her here She wanted to be in charge so I nicknamed her "Miss Queen". It was sad that some of these babies are going to die. All the babies were cute. I hope that all the babies get adopted.

The food at breakfast was really good. I had miso soup with tofu & scallions, pancakes, rice/meatballs, sausage, watermelon, cantalope, dragon fruit, dim sum, 1 bite of eggs, coffee, OJ. I did not really like the eggs and sausage. I liked everything else. Especially the miso soup.

Corinne & Davis tomorrow I will tell you about the things I will see today.
Graham

We are here

2010-12-02T03:36:00.001-08:00

We are here and exhausted. Our Nashville to Newark flight was really rough and Graham got to learn how to use the little baggy in front of his seat. The flight to Beijing was really nice, plane very nice. After we got here we went to China Little Flower. The lady that runs this use to work with China Care and knew Corinne when she lived at China Care. China Little flower had about 25-30 children. This is a home for hospice care, children difficult to adopt out, and children with moderate special needs. Graham saw alot and will need to absorb alot. We saw one child that had EXTREME hydrocephalus and is dying. There was another little girl with downs, cleft lip, and heart defect. Graham was drawn to her. I think mostly because she was older and a toddler. He told me he was scared he would "hurt" the babies if he touched them. There were children there with CP, Brain damage, double clefts, preemies, bladder exstrophy, ect. I have never been one to hide life's realities from my kids (especially when the reality is growing up right in our home). Today gave Graham alot to think about. The neat thing is he got to see a home very similar to the one Corinne initially lived in the 1st year of her life and Saturday night he will get to go to her foster families home. I really like that he is getting to see where and how she lived her first 2 years of life. If you are adopting in China and bringing children I highly recommend visiting one of the children's homes. There are so many great homes in the Beijing area.

Graham feel asleep at 6:30 without eating his dinner. I hope he gets a fulls night rest. Brook is already in bed asleep and I am signing off and on my way.

Itinerary and Both Hands Video

2010-12-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

Dec 1st Fly to Beijing

Dec 2nd arrive in Beijing at 2:30 and visit www.chinalittleflower.org A home for special needs orphans and Hospice care for the very sick

Dec 3rd Visit Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, and do a pedicab tour through an old district and eat at a local home. Go to an acrobat show in the evening.

Dec 4th Visit the great wall, go to Tiananmen square, Go and visit Corinne's foster family.

Dec 5th Fly to Guiyang, Guizhou. Receive Maggie around 3pm.

Dec 6-10 remain in Guiyang to do paperwork and local sight seeing. Visit with the family who first cared for Maggie and got her surgery completed.

Dec 10 fly to Guangzhou

Dec 11 medical exam and TB testing

Dec 12, 13 down days of touring, free time

Dec 14 US consulate appt for swearing in ceremony

Dec 15 Down time again

Dec 16 Receive Maggie's passport at 4pm and fly to Hong Kong at 10:40pm

Dec 17 Fly out of Hong Kong at 11:25am and arrive in Nashville at 8:06pm

Bishop Both Hands Project from Greg Pope on Vimeo.

And were off tomorrow

2010-11-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

We leave tomorrow am for China. I will post our schedule and our Both hands work day video tomorrow.

Who loves the widow, orphan, Jesus, Maggie, our family

2010-11-20T18:13:00.001-08:00

Just a few pictures from our work day Both Hands widow project. A big thanks to all our friends and family who came out to love on Mrs. Nanny and repair her home. It was really amazing to watch the children work. The kids were amazing workers and dusted, raked, and cleaned with a joyful heart. Most of the kids are old enough to remember this work day and they will also remember SEEing their parents work. The best way to preach a message without saying a word. We have a wonderful videographer who is putting together a "work day movie". I will post once it is ready.

Fundraising & our Widow project

2010-11-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Nanny's Home

We are excited to be a part of a "Both Hands" project on Saturday November 20th. Both Hands ministry is a ministry that serves adopted families needing to fundraise and widows in need. We will be working on Ms. Nanny's home. She is an 87 year old widow who is unable to meet the needs of her home. We have had a group of wonderful people offer to come alongside us and be on our work day team. It is a wonderful blessing you get to experience when you put yourself out there and say you need help. It is hard to say you need help. It is hard to ask friends/family to help you on a project and mail support letters on your behalf. I have witnessed and benefited from some amazing genorosity of our friends and family - all of which I couldn't of experienced unless we did this project. Below is a link to our fundraising page at lifesong. All donations are tax deductable and go straight into our adoption fund. If you feel led we would appreciate any donations towards our project.

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html

You have to scroll down to our name/date. Our fundraising letter is included on the link.

So hopefully at the end of the day on November 20th we will have taken care of some of Ms. Nanny's needs. And Maggie will have a new story for me to tell her of how a group of people came around to love on her, value her, and help in bringing her home.

Mrs. Nanny

Gifts

2010-11-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been explaining to my kids the need for them to step up and help around the home. They all wanted another sister. I have talked to them about adding another sibling means I need more help. Each child brings with them different gifts that is going to be used and help in the process of Maggie coming home.

Corinne

She brings the gift of love. She loves so well and just wants to be and feel loved. She is kind to everyone and is a good friend. She will share all her favorite things with everyone. G keeps scolding her because she gives most of her silly bands away instead of trading. But that is just how she is. If she thinks it will make someone happy to have one of her bands then she wants them to have it.

She has talked and talked for years about a baby sister. I pray and hope her sister is kind and will let Corinne love on her. Corinne has the gift of being a very good big sister and she has a servants heart.

Graham

He has the gift of teaching. Graham is such an excellent teacher. Recently he has done Corinne's homeschool math lessons. He was so encouraging to her and patient in showing her how numbers and tally sticks work. I let him sit in with me on Corinne's preschool parent teacher conference. The teacher was going over her developemental evaluation. She was showing us the shapes that need reinforcing - octagon, hexagon, ect. I turned to G to make sure he was listening and saw what he could work on with her. He was soaking it up and took seriously his responsibility to teach her these shapes. He gets really excited at being able to teach another and see them learn. .He has big plans in what he wants to teach Maggie and wants it to be his "job". This year he started cub scouts and to say he is excited is an understatement. Below is a photo at the 100 year camping jamboree

Davis

He is a protector and defender. He has the gift of devotion and is very loyal. His family is very important to him and likes it best when we are all under 1 roof. He is excited about his new sister and is fully committed to be a big brother in the full sense. This is how he is with Corinne. She is his and his to protect, love, and care for. There is a funny story of him getting cross with another little boy who was in Corinne's preschool class last year. Evidently the other little boy had informed Davis that he takes care of Corinne. Well this got all over Davis and he quickly explained to the little boy who he was and that Corinne is his and he is the one who looks after her. Davis is fierce defender of all people who he claims as "his". Including Mama!

Extra photos from the boy scout jamboree.

I included the below photo because to me it parallels the journey of adoption. This is me and my sister in law. We both ran in the Womens half marathon. The journey of adoption doesn't stop after you get home. Really the hardest part is once you are home. Just like training for a marathon you have to work at it over a long time. Some days you just don't want to get out of bed and run. Just like some days you just don't want to have to parent and do the hard stuff of transitioning your new child. With running and training there is pain, exhaustion, elation, accomplishiment. All these things exist with a newly adopted child. As we get closer to travel and I think about getting on a plane to China, I keep thinking "I've got to get my running shoes on and get ready to race". Not a quick 5k or even a 10k but a nice steady 13 miles. As a side note my kids asked Brook "when is mom going to run a whole marathon" Evidently they are not to impressed with these piddly half marathons.

TA

2010-10-28T19:04:00.000-07:00

We recieved our TA today. This means Travel Approval from China. We were given the option to travel next week, leave week of Thanksgiving, or the week after Thanksgiving. We are choosing the week after Thanksgiving. "G" saw no problem with us leaving next week. I informed him we need to get a few more Math, grammer, and Latin lessons done before we can get on a plane! I think the timing willl work out well with our homeschool schedule and Christmas break.

1 month ago

2010-10-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it has already been a month since we were referred Maggie. After all of C's speech therapy and surgery I would never of thought our next adoption would be a cleft baby. It wasn't checked on our checklist. I kept telling DH that I didn't think the check list would matter - we would just be shown who our daughter is. Sure enough the list didn't matter. Maggie is not supppose to have a cleft palate. Her paperwork says aveolar cleft which is a cleft gumline. But in the International adoption world nothing is 100%. I will be anxious to peek inside her mouth.

LOA and Fundraising project

2010-10-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

LOA means Letter of Acceptance. It is a letter you sign saying "yes we really do want to adopt this child". It usually takes 4-6 weeks to recieve. We received our LOA in 12 days. Wow! Now we only need 1 more paper from China - a TA. This stands for Travel Approval which says you can come now.

Our agency says we should plan to travel the first of December. Our reality is coming at us fast. I pray the transition is managable with our homeschooling. Makes me a bit nervous, but if we travel first of December it will give us a short break before we have to dive back into schooling.

They other last major thing we are doing prior to travel is called a "both hands project". It is a fundraising effort. Both hands ministry pairs you with a widow. You put together a work crew and spend the day fixing her home and doing repairs. Your work crew sends out letters requesting financial support to work on the widows home. Once you pay for supplies all excess money goes to the adoptive family. We are tentively planning to do our project November 20th. Let me know if you would like to help. We have alot of adoption expenses and would love the support.

Here SHE is

2010-09-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

She is 2 1/2 years old. Date of Birth is February 20th, 2008. She is from Guiyang in Guizhou province. We think she is awfully cute and can't wait to meet her. Our oldest son will travel with us. He is beyond excited. He will try any food and is very adventuresome so we can't wait for him to have this experience. It surely will make a lasting impression.

I think we have setttled on a name. Corinne suggested "Maggie". This name was never on our list but when I saw her face she just looked like a Maggie to me. Still waiting on DH to cast his final vote.

We received our Pre-approval (PA) from China on Sept 29th. Right now our agency tells us that we might travel by the first part of December. These things can be so hard to predict because China is always changing timeframes and the process.

2 1/2 years old

2 1/2 years old - photo Sept 21st

1 year old

Referral

2010-09-26T19:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday night Sept 19th people started getting calls for referrals from the new special needs list. We did not get a call. Monday morning we did not get a call. We assumed by this p0int we had not been matched. At about 9pm Monday night our agency personal (who was in China on an official visit) called us. He said he wanted to let us know about a little girl that he thought we might be intersted in. Her file had been locked earlier but unlocked due to a families personal problems. She had a special need that we had not checked off on our list but wanted to give us the opportunity to review her file. He went on to tell us that she had a cleft lip/cleft gum line and is 2 1/2 years old living in foster care. We told him sure we would love to look at her file.
We had 72 hours to review and submit our LOI before her file would be unlocked and other potetnial parents could petition to adopt her. We spent the next 2 days praying and seeking God's will. We were not concerned about her or her special needs which just needed affirmation that she was truly the child God wanted in our family. By Wednesday morning we had recieved our answer and submitted our LOI to China. We are very lucky to be able to adopt her. I can not share photos or much identifying info until China send us our PA. A PA means pre-approval. It is their way of saying "your application looks ok you can adopt her". We are so excited as well as G, D, and C. They have each suggested names but we have yet to decide for sure. Although, I think C's suggestion of Maggie is winning.

Waiting for a Match

2010-09-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

This adoption has been about waiting. To be totally honest I have been content to wait. Our first adoption I moved forward like a bullet train. This time we have been much slower and it has been about seeking God's direction for each and every step. We started our homestudy in November of 2008. Our paperwork was logged into China June 2009. The next step has been for us to submit our special needs checklist. This is a list that you submit stating the special needs you are willing to accept. For a long time we haven't had peace about taking this next step. That is until now.....This past Friday Sept 17th we emailed our checklist to our agency.

We are with a small agency that tends to match families within 1-3 months after submitting the checklist. Every 4-6 weeks China sends a new list of special needs children. A new list comes out tonight. Our agency emailed us today and said they will try to match us with this list. So how do you sleep the night before you might discover you new child. Let's just say this is nothing like birthing a baby the old fashion way. My prayer is that if we are given a childs file for review it will be very clear if she is ours.

Out of review

2010-07-06T05:41:00.000-07:00

Our LID is June 22nd and we are out of the review room. The CCAA has reviewed files through July 31, 2009. We are still just sitting still and waiting for God to say it is time to submit the special needs checklist. Our last adoption we moved ahead like a freight train on a fast track. This time it has been about waiting and listening for each step.

I do think once we do move forward and are matched our process will be fast. We are a I600 family and we are out of review.

new sewing

2010-05-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

I have been busy sewing for Corinne for the summer. I always like to get my sewing for her complete before I do much in the way of orders. Below are somethings I have created. Let me know if you are interested in anything. I have many fabric choices. I will not sew another "Easter dress". It was labor intensive and the materials are very $$$$.

Below is a fun "twirl skirt" It is double layered which means it is fun and full for a little girl to twirl around. I used grossgrain polka dot ribbon to cinch up the side. The skirt is $46.

This is a fun apron dress. It has a peasant style. I like this pattern because you can be really creative with the waistaband and apron. I added pink buttons to the sash to make it appear "buttoned on". It is easy to adorn it with embellishments. I just wish I had time to teach myself to make the little round fabric flowers people are putting on everything. Maybe I can learn that next month.

This pattern is from Children's Corner and I really like the finished product. The pattern is for a top or dress. The round neck is a bit labor intensive to make it fit "just right". I used a matching aqua micro check piping to go around the neck. I am crazy about tucks this year. I really like an old fashion summer look and tucks do just that. I also like that the back of the top uses just 3 buttons and leaves the bottom half open.

Front of the top

Back of the top

Like I said I love sweet old fashion summer dresses. This is "The tuck dress". Hence all the tucks in the front. It calls for 14 tucks in the front and 14 in the back. So the back and the front match. If you have never sewn take my word that it is alot of tucks. The collar is trimmed in a sweet white crotch trim. Unfortunatly my camera "washed out" the fabric. It is much prettier stronger pink in person. This dress is not for sale.

I love this fabric. It is a white seersucker accented in pink/greens/ and red. The straps are made from a raspberry gingham and the ruffle trim is also made from the same raspberry gingham. This dress is $52 size 3/4

This dress looks really cute on. The round neck and hem is made of a white pique and is trimmed in an aqua piping. A Michael Miller fabric is used for the dress. It is a combo of white, aqua, and coral. It sells for $56

I made this set earlier in the spring while it was still cool. The fabric is a cute polka dot mushroom print. I trimmed the pant in a red and white gingham ribbon above the ruffle.

This was "C" EAster dress this year. It is the first Heirloom quality dress I have sewn for her. I saw the dress on a model and had to make it. There was no pattern so it just had to be "created". It is made from the softest 100% pima batiste cotton - Bearissama. The yoke is pieced together with lace/embroidered trim/entradaux. I enjoyed making it for Corinne but I wouldn't make to sell. Too much time and $$$ went into it.

I made these 3 sibling outfits for another adoptive family. There last sweet boy came from Ethiopia.

This is one of mynew favorite patterns by Modkid. It is a fun top and skirt set. The top is a halter with a 2 layer skirt. I used an eyelet fabric for the underskirt of the top. The skirt is made from 2 fabrics and the hem has tucks at the bottom. The top also has horizontal tucks. This style sells for $70

summer

2010-05-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone is finishing up with school! D and C finished preschool today. G has 2 more weeks of monday/friday classes and we have 2 more weeks of homeschooling. I can not wait for summer. I feel like the kids "freedom". We can spend time doing whatever we want. Remember when you were a kid and how wonderful the word "summer" was and then as you approached college graduation "summer" would never hold the same meaning.

With 3 kids and homeschooling "summer" now has a sweet ring. I told G today he would spend the summer with me teaching him to cook. He is interested in anything and everything. I told him he can pick out a cake/pie/dessert each week and then let our "judges" rate the recipe. He loves ice tea so we plan to make "sun tea" and tea with a machine and do a "taste test" to see which way is really better. When apples were in season we did an apple taste test with about 12 varities to see what is best - he still remembers. He is a joy to make memories with.

I have an older neighbor who is always telling me that these years with my kids are the best years. I believe her. They are easy/happy kids,(most of the time). They haven't entered the hard years of trying to figure out how to fit in or are they liked. In their world "why would you not like them". With my neighbor I can see such the contrast in our lives. I long for peace and quiet but for the most part peace and quiet is all she has. Our lives are busy with coming going but hers is much simplier. Yesterday I was cutting the grass and my 2 boys were chasing behind my lawn mower laughing and pretending the mower was a monster. I loved that moment. It was a total boys being boys yet still children. I am thankful for my neighbor and the reminder that she gives me to be thankful for these tiring but joyful years.

We live in a wealthy community so there are many stay at home moms. One thing that kills me is when I hear moms complaining about summer coming. They say they don't know what they will do with their kids all day and are so glad when school starts back up. When I hear these comments I always hope their kids don't hear their parent say these things. I mean really, think about how excited kids are about summer and then to know that your parents just wish you were back in school. Sorry for this diversion but it is a soapbox of mine.

Dress Donation to Love Without Boundaries Auction

2010-04-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

I donated a dress to Love Without Boundaries Born in my heart Ebay auction. All proceeds from the auction go to help pay for Love without Boundaries medical program to help orphans in China. Below is a photo of the dress. It is a size 3t. Click here to visit auction. Auction ends next Tuesday. I also had a reader ask me which Childrens Bible I referenced in my post Scoliosis. The book is called "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by Sally Lloyd Jones. It is really excellent and each story points the child back to cross and Jesus sacrifice.

brace update

2010-03-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Corinne has been a trooper with her brace but defiantly doesn't like it. About a week and half ago she wore it through the night for the first time. I was away on a womens retreat so she got to sleep with daddy while wearing the brace through the night for the first time. She will moan during the night and some mornings she wakes up acting really uncomfortable/sore. We went to the orthopedic yesteday to do x-rays to make sure the brace was pushing on her spine in the right way. It was so we don't have to make an adjustments. The doctor also said she will probably need a new brace in a year. I know this makes sense because of growth but it hadn't hit me. The brace cost $2400 and it was all out of pocket. So now that will be $2400 every year. I know there is alot of discussion about healthcare reform, ect, ect. But having a medically needy child who comes from a country with no healthcare coverage my perspective has been influenced to say the least. I know that there are alot of things wrong with the new bill but I personally feel that there is a moral obligation to provide healthcare to people. Now what that looks like is a whole 'nother bag of worms. I can only speak to our experiences. We have an individual policy (no coverage through my husbands work). Every year our premiums go up up up and our deductible for our daughter gets higher. Sure the insurance company can't boot her off the plan but they can nickel and dime us. Right now her decuctible is $5000. As you know she wears hearing aids which requires hearing tests every 4-6months, new ear molds ($150 pop), repairs, ect. Guess how much insurance covers - Nada - not one stinking thing! They didn't even cover the hearing aids - another $4500. In the great state of Tennessee this is no mandatory coverage for children with hearing loss. So since it isn't mandated it won't happen. Insurance will pay for 20 visits for speech therapy and we had to go through a "special process" just for that. Everyone knows to speak you have to hear so if you haven't been hearing you can't speak - well at least I thought most people knew that. So she has been in speech therapy for almost 3 years 1 time a week - cost $150 a visit. Like I said BCBS covered the first 20 visits then it was up to us. Corinne didn't have just an "r" problem or stutter problem. (she had 2 medical problems contributing to her issues) She had major speech delays. Now that her speech has improved alot we have moved her therapy out of the Vandy system and closer to home which also brings the cost way down - $60. As I was racking my brain today thinking what do we do it hit me "Shriners". I didn't know much about them but now I do. I called a nice lady today in Lexington and she said they would be happy to help our family and meet Corinne's healthcare needs. I asked her "but do we qualify, what income level do you help, ect, ect." She said as long as the child is under 18 and has a medical condition that falls under their speciality then they will see us. Preadolsecent scoliosis falls under their umbrella so we meet the criteria. It is that simple. What ever insurance won't cover Shriners will cover the rest! Isn't that amazing. And such a relief. I also feel like an idiot for not knowing what a wonderful thing Shriners is.
Anyways a little food for thought as the topic of healthcare reform is mentioned

Scoliosis

2010-03-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Corinne was diagnosed with scoliosis 18 months ago. She has been followed by the orthopedic every 6 months. Her last x-ray revealed that her curvature had reached a point that she needed to start being braced. Currently her curve is at 30 degrees. This week she and I went to pick up her new brace. Corinne is usually a very compliant patient. It is not that she wasn't compliant at her brace visit but she "knew". She knew this brace was "stinky". And let me tell you it is stinky! The doctor wants her to build up to wearing it 16 hours in a 24 hour time period. Initially they say let her wear it for a few hours at a time and adding an hour. We came home and I put it on her. I didn't let her see me cry. I went in the bathroom and sat and just cried. It was a pitiful sight to see her in the brace. I had put it on and put a t-shirt over it. She looked totally disfigured. They had added extra padding to the brace near her shoulder blade. It makes it look like she has a hump on her back. She can not walk nor stand normal in the brace. My prayer is that she can learn to sleep in the brace. Some kids can. If she can put it on in the afternoon and wear it till morning we can get the 16 hours in. I will not make her wear it to preschool - that would be sooo unfair.

Yesterday I just sat and thought "why god". Why does this sweet baby girl have to endure something else "broken" in her body. Isn't that the famous question most of ask when we see suffering. The only answer that makes sense to me is this. In my childrens story book bible it says "when sin entered the world the world broke" It goes on to say creation would start to unravel, and come undone, and go wrong. That is the answer to the why question. That seems so simple. Makes you think "thats it", but that is how awful sin is. And if that is how awful sin is then God must be so unbelievably incomprehensibly Holy.

If you are reading this then I want you to ask yourself something. Is there a child, a medically needy child, we can adopt or help care for? These orphans need families. If Corinne had not been adopted she would of never been treated for hearing loss, never had her palate(vpi) surgery, never learn to speak clearly, never have her heart valve replaced, never treated for scoliosis. So where would that have left her? Maybe she would die because her leaky valve would damage her already enlarged right ventricle so much that it would give out. Or Maybe she would eventually look like this.

She most defianlty wouldn't of received hearing aids in China - so what sounds she would of never heard. Maybe her caretakers would of considered her slow or mentally impaired due to poor speech. I don't know but the important thing is that is not her future. She has a future because of adoption. Instead she looks like this (singing Ariel theme song while dancing with her brother decked out in her dance costume)

I am not trying to put my family on a pedestal and say look at the wonderful thing we did. No not at all. I use to be scared of Corinne's medical report, but God changed all that. He has replaced my heart of stone with a heart of love for special needs orphans. I don't know what God's plan is for Corinne's life. What I do know is our family gets the privilege of watching her grow up and see her grow into the beautiful woman God has created her to be. She is special but not because of her medical report.
There are sooooo many kids like Corinne who need a mom and dad that need medical help. Won't you consider bringing one into your family?

The battlefield

2010-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

As we move ahead in our adoption I am being reminded of the battle that lays before us. A very experienced and wise mom who had adopted many children told me "Once you enter the adoption journey you are on the battlefield with Satan". She is so right. Satan doesn't want these children placed in families. He wants them to remain in bondage to abandoment and shame, unloved. A recent disruption in my community has reminded me of this battle. It has propelled me to reread the books like "Adoptive parenting from the ground up" and "The Connected Child". It has reminded me to pray in advance for this journey and hurdles we will have.

If you are adopting or adopting for the first time read these verses and let them sink in
1. Psalm 68: 5-6 "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his
holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, ....

God is the father and defender of the orphan. He is leading you into this battle. Some might think to use the word "battle" is a bit dramatic. I think it is not. While in China with our first adoption I felt the breathe of Satan on my neck. He pursued us. He wanted to fill us with doubt, fear, confusion. To a certain degree he was succesful. We stuggled and felt very alone. I think Satan is so interested in these children because in many cases they are living in darkness - they do not know the truth of Christ and Satan doesn't want them to hear. Not only is the child living in darkness they may come from generations of unbelief. Adoption is changing all of that. A child will know they are wanted, valued, and loved. I also think God is glorified when a child is brought into a family. The world wonders why you would take "the risk", "possibly destroy your current family", "love one that you didn't birth"., ect. The world is right we wouldn't do it on our own. It is only because of GOD that we can do it.

2. Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

God has given us our armor/weapons so that we will triumph and be the parents he is calling us to be to these adopted children. He says our armor is Truth, Righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, holy spirit.

Truth - Satan will try to impose falsehoods into your thinking. He will try to make you doubt your calling to adopt or make you doubt your ability to parent a certain child or parent certain needs. The truth is God equips those he calls. Ultimatley the TRUTH is these children NEED homes it is our Christian responsiblity to Care for these children.

Righteousness. As Satan trys to fill you with doubt and fear call on The One who can do it and will do it through you. God knows your short comings, your sin, and all the things that might lead you down a road of failing. Therefore, he sent Christ so that we can clothe ourselves in his righteousness and stand firm. HE will go before us and hem us in from behind. It is because of him we can succeed.

Peace - During the storms and trials there is only one who can send the peace. Look to him and ask for it. It might be chaotic around you but God can fill your heart with peace.

Faith - Faith is knowing that God KNOWS BETTER THAN YOU! Worrying is thinking you know better than God! Put all your eggs in his basket. As you walk in faith he will transfrom you. This is sometimes painful. It is always painful when God takes away the yuck in your life. After our first adoption I felt like a tree. A tree that had had all its branches lopped off and was constanly bleeding sap. It was painful but God had to get rid of the yuck in my heart. The end result is he has conformed you to look more like him!

Salvation - Keep our eyes on the cross. Remember God says our life is just a mist - here today gone tomorrow. The trial of this life will pass away. As we journey through adoption God is giving us the blessing to see the working outs of ETERNAL salvation in someone who was discarded but God says is his TREASURE. Along with that there will be the day when our Salvation into eternity is fulfilled and we stand before God and we have to give an accounting of what we did for the orphan.

Holy Spirit - The one who lives in us and guides us. I recently heard someone say we need to work on tuning in and really listening for the spirit. IN other words she was saying we have a frequency problem and need to adjust our "ear radios"

Haiti

2010-01-21T06:26:00.000-08:00

Be sure to pause music at the bottom of the blog so that you can hear the music that goes with this video. it is a great song

Christmas Time

2009-12-24T06:00:00.001-08:00

I am not good at posting like I did for our first adoption. I often have thoughts but they never quite make it to a post. Yet I am thankful for the wise women who find the time to post their thoughts. I personally benefit so much from reading blogs below. As it is said iron sharpens iron and the blogs listed below are women who "sharpen" me and keep my eyes on the cross.
http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/
http://the30dayjourneyforhope.blogspot.com/
http://thehandsofthepotter.blogspot.com/
http://bakerssweets.blogspot.com/

Now I will share a story about my middle child "D". He always provides us with a story. Yesterday morning my 2 boys woke up and went to visit the christmas tree and were discussing gifts/Christmas while my husband and I were laying in our bedroom. D preceded to tell his older brother that he "Wasn't feeling good about Christmas". His brother asked him what did he mean but "D" just couldn't quite explain what was on his mind. His brother said "Do you think you are getting sticks for Christmas" No was his answer. "Do you think you aren't going to get the gift you want" No was his answer and continued to talk about how he "was worried and not feeling good about Christmas". My husband and I looked at each other and thought "he is worried about his presents, good grief". Later on I called "D" to me and asked him what did he mean that he was "worried about Christmas". He pondered and thought and he turned to me and said "Mom I am worried about all the poor people that don't have anything". It is a joyous thing to see seeds bear fruit. I told him Christmas for me was a happy/sad time. Once your eyes have been open to children with no families, orphans literally dying from lack of care, or books like "Same kind of difference as me" Christmas can't be the same. We now know and have met "the least of these" and we can't do nothing. Ironically yesterday we were scheduled to take Christmas gifts and dinner to the "least of these" in our community. It was a blessing to be able to let "D" see how we flesh out those concerns that God lays on our heart.

We gave Christmas for a family through Mercy Childrens Clinic. What is neat about their family adoption is that you take the food and gifts to the family. It gives you a chance to let God open your childrens eyes to the people in their community. When you walk into a home and their is a 3 foot Christmas tree with 3 small gift bags around the tree - that is certainly to make and imprint on their heart.

Below is a picture of "D" loving on his sister. From time to time I will find "D" loving up on his sister. he really does have a sensitivity to others.

Below are photos from a DC trip "G" my oldest and I did. I called it a homeschooling fieldtrip, it just required a plane ride. My brother, who we are very proud of, ran in the Marine Corp marathon. Which is quite awsome to watch someone compete in a marathon!

I decided this would be a great time to take Graham to DC (he has been studying early American history) and see the sites and watch his Uncle. Graham also got to run in a 1 mile kids race and had a soldier place a medal around his neck. Neat experience for a 7 year old! I was able to run in the 10k race and had alot of fun. It was very inspiring to run next to injured soldiers running on prothesis or using modified bikes to help them complete the event. It was defiantly a memory making/bonding trip with my oldest.

My brother and me

2009-12-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

I have lots of pictures below of what we have been doing this holiday season. This past weekend I had all of our cousins over to decorate gingerbread cookies. They all enjoy being together. Corinne and I went back to the mini nutcracker this year. She loves going and seeing all the ballerinas.

Corinne loves decorating cookies and Making anything!

More cousins

Davis with his cousin E*

Graham and his cousin m*

Sitting with Santa

Making gingerbread houses

Corinne at the "mini nutcracker" with her cousin meeting the sugarplum fairy

Chocolate and pink giraffe pants 3t

2009-11-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

Up for sale now is a pair of pink and chocolate brown giraffe pants. The pants have a ruffled hem and are trimmed in chocolate ric rac. The pants are 22.75 inches long and the waist is 18inches. They are generous 3t. The cost is $32. I can also sell with the pants a white lettuce edge turtleneck that can be embroidered. I have enough giraffe fabric to embroider the tee with an initial or what ever interest you. The additional shirt would be $18. I do not have enough fabric to do more pants - this will be the only one I sell. Email me if you want to purchase

New Outfit

2009-11-02T19:27:00.001-08:00

I have for sale a size 3t pant set. I love this set and had originally made it for my daughter, but I need to sell somethings. I don't have anymore of this fabric so this is the only one available. All fabrics, trims, and buttons are from a boutique childrens fabric shop - NO Joannes or Hobby lobby fabrics. The top is lined and buttons in the back. The main fabric is light pink with white, green, and shades of pink dots. The neck and armholes are trimmed in a coordinating piping. The hem of the top is made from a green microcheck. The same piping is used to trim the hem plus an added white ric rac. The top measures 14.25 inches from shoulder to hem. The pants are made from the same pink dot fabric. The pants cuff is made from the same microcheck green gingham. The piping was also used on the cuff of the pants. 'The elastic waistband measures 17 inches. The pants are 21inches long. This set is for sale for $60 plus shipping.

Fall Break Fun

2009-10-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

This weekend my husband took my 2 boys for an overnight camp trip. They hiked 4 miles in to their campsite and set up camp and then hiked 4 miles back out in the morning. Not bad for a 5 and 7 year old. My oldest is a trooper and always up for an adventure. Cold, pain, fatigue generally doesn't bother him he just keeps going without a complaint. Now my 5 year old feels those discomforts a bit more and is also very good at sharing how he is feeling. He did get tired yesterday as they were doing mile 3. They had a great time and will defiantly do it again in the spring. I am so thankful to have a husband who will spend time with my boys doing what boys are meant to do and enjoy the outdoors.

Just getting started

Entering into a cave

A little rock climbing

They came home and told me they could write with sticks and smoke

Resting tired feet

A beautiful waterfall and notice the "mist" rainbow

Corinne and I stayed home while they camped. We got to play a number of rounds of candy land, go fish, paint nails and toes, watch cinderella, and sleep in mom's bed.

Slowly moving into fall

2009-09-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

I have been really busy with starting my 3rd year of homeschooling and doing all the things you have to do to kick off another school year. So I haven't had much time to sew. I did sew a few things in August for sweet friends of mine. I have one friend that has adopted from china and wanted matching dresses for her adorable girls. I made 2 apron dresses that would work in winter and spring. I used a fine whale corduroy in raspberry for the top of the dress. I used a cream velvet to finish out the hem on the apron. The ties and hem on the skirt is made from a micro gingham check in light blue. See photo below

Next I made an outfit - capri and tie top for another sweet little girl. The top ties at the shoulders and has pockets. The pants are made from an apple fabric and are capri length

We went to the beach at the end of the August and I wanted to make Corinne some fun wispy beach pants. Below is a photo of the the pants. I trimmed the hem in sweet cotton lace.

Prayers needed now for a family

2009-08-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you familiar with the new US imposed TB adoption laws - there is a family right now living the nightmare of these new laws/requirments. See links below. I think beaucrats forget the living breathing children that are affected by more red tape/laws.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
This family is seeking press coverage to assist in bringing home their newly adopted daughter. If you personally know someone in the media that is able to take action, please have them contact this family! Contact info is posted on their site below:

http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com/

After reading their story, please come back and sign this petition. This is extremely important for those of you waiting to adopt!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html

Please keep them in your prayers!

Auction closed

2009-07-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

The auction is now closed. Thank you Ruthi for your bid and helping to bring David home to his family. Please email me so I can ask you questions about the sizing/sewing of the dress.

Robin, from Red Thread Stitches fundraises for China Little Flower through auctions. In about a week I will have another outfit to auction on Robins website. So please check back. Below is a photo of come of the children at China little flower. They provide much hospice care. Below the photo is a brief description of China little Flower.

China Little Flower is named after St. Therese “the little flower” who had a great heart for China. Their staff consists of less than 30, including the nannies who care for the babies. They are working in cooperation with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (priests and lay missionaries) and Missionary Benedictines (a small convent of nuns). They have always kept the number of babies in the hospice at 12 to 15, but the new home will have beds for up to 20. The home was expanded from only a home for dying babies, to also accepting fragile preemie/low birth weight babies, and also those born with congenital club feet. The babies come from all over China, not just Taiyuan. China Little Flower also cares for older disabled orphans in foster families; there are about 40 of them. Some attend school, and some are severely disabled and mentally retarded and do not. The work is funded solely by donations.

Dress Auction to help Davids family

2009-07-05T20:11:00.001-07:00

This entry is for an auction to help Davids family. I posted earlier about this family. They are in process to adopt their 3rd special needs child from China. David is a sweet boy who has waited a long time to come home to his forever family. About 2 years ago this family adopted Davids best friend Maddie June. Maddie June can't wait for David to come home. She has never forgotten him. The photo above is a picture of Maddie with David while they were living in China together.

This auction will end on July 13th at 7pm. Below is the photo of the dress available. What I love about this dress is that it is knit. The knit is a beautiful pale blue with lots of fun bright colors. The straps are made from a polka dot grossgrain ribbon. The hem is trimmed in pink ric rac. The bodice of the sundress is gathered. The winner of the auction can choose the size they want me to sew. The dress is available in size 12m to size 8. Please leave your bid amount under comments. Thanks so much for supporting this family. At the close of the auction the winner will go to the families website and pay them directly. Once payment is sent I will start sewing your dress in your size choice.

mermaid skirt

2009-07-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves mermaids and put in a request for a mermaid skirt. Below are pictures of her skirt. I can get this fabric for just a little longer. I can make this skirt in size 12m -8. It will cost $32. Email me if you would like to order one or need a skirt with a different "theme"

This month I have had 2 new neices. One adopted from china and another born to my sister in law and brother. Below is a dress I made for my brothers new daughter. It is a classic tailored dress that has hand emboidery work. I monogrammed her initial using a technique called "shadow emboirdery". I then added embroidery work to the hem. See photos below.

My new niece/ sisters adoption

2009-06-28T10:39:00.000-07:00

My sister and brother in law are in China right now adopting their 4th child - first adoption. If you would like to see their journy the link is www.langleysmeimei.com

There new daughter is very cute and very sad. It is so hard to watch and witness a child grieve like these children grieve. Please pray for "E" as she accepts her new family and grieves the loss of her foster family. Pray also for the foster family. They loved her very much.

LID

2009-06-23T06:58:00.001-07:00

We got an email from our agency yesterday saying we had a LID. LID stands for Log in Date. That is the date that China officially logs in your dossier (paperwork) into their system. Our LID is June 22, 2009!

Skirts

2009-06-14T19:40:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in anything please email me first instead of leaving a comment. I made the skirt below for my neice. It is a tiered skirt with an apron front. The apron is a white fabric with small pink polka dots. I embroidered flowers onto the apron. I used green ric rac for the stems and border. I can make this skirt in a size 2t-8. I have enough fabric for 2 more skirts. It cost $32

This is a matching peasant dress I made for my neice who is coming home from China in July. I used the green ric rac around the border and appliqued a flower on to the skirt of the dress. The fabric is gathered around the neck and hem of the sleeve. I will make and sell this dress for $40

People have inquired about the skirts and cross tees. The below fabric is made from seersucker. I will make the skirt from the pink seersucker and trim it in either white, pink, or yellow ric rac.

I can make the below fabric in skirt/tee. The skirt will be made from the pear fabric and apron from the red polka dot. I will use the brown or yellow ric rac for trim. The cross tee and skirt is $42

I tried my hand at smocking and made this bishop for my nephew. It is light blue and smocked with cream thread. The sleeve is smocked and trimmed with lace. Right now I am not going to sew and sell smocked items until I have practiced more.

skirts

2009-06-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

I sewed 2 antique hanky skirts last week. I think they were very cute and a great way to use antique linens. These skirts were made for 2 sisters. In the next few weeks I am going to do an auction for a family in the adoption community. They are in process to adopt a sweet China Care little boy. For the auction I will sew 1 or 2 outfits and auction them to the highest bidder and I will give all proceeds to this family

Our daughter was in the China Care foster home during the same time her children were there. Their son who is waiting in China was best friends with their daughter Maddie. They had a super sweet relationship and she has never forgotten him nor stopped praying for him. These parents are so faithful and a wonderful picture of Christ like love.

I am not sure what size or style I will make, but if you know of something you would like to bid on please email me

On its way

2009-06-08T19:01:00.001-07:00

Our paperwork was shipped to China today. We should have a log in date in the next 2-3 weeks. Our agency said they are matching clients within 2-3 months. We still need some time to save up money for the adoption so we have instructed them to not even try to match our family till the first of next year. So if you want to place an order for an outfit send me an email. I will do custom orders.

2009-05-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

Below is an outift I sewed for my niece, Elizabeth. My sister and her husband John are adopting her from China and are set to travel June 25th. Here is their blog. The top has a zipper in the back and has a swing top shape and front pockets. It comes with a matching set of bloomers. This set is available for $50. It is also available in other fabrics.

Now for a little family news. About a week ago we decide to teach my 5 year old to ride his bike with no training wheels. He rode a loop around the drive while I held onto his seat. We paused for a moment so I could go in and change into my tennis shoes. I came out the front the door to find him riding his bike on his own with no training wheels and no help from me. He was very proud of himself and we were very proud of him!

This past weekend we had a "family day" at the Tennessee Baptist Childrens home 5K fundraising race. Below is my oldest running in the 1 mile kid race. He finished his mile in 9 minutes - no bad for 7 years old. He has always loved to run and enjoys running in races. Way to go Graham!

My 2 year old neice also participated. She is the little girl in the pink bow h0lding her dad (my brothers) hand. They had a 100 yard dash race for younger kids. "C" wasn't sure about racing, but did enjoy hanging out with her cousins.

Here is a picture of my brother finishing his race. He is the runner in the family. He ran the 1/2 marathon a few weeks back and runs in 5ks throughout the year. He also runs very fast. This race he finished in a little ver 21 minutes. For those of you bad at math this means he averaged right under 7 minutes a mile.

Last year I brought my oldest to this same race so he could run in the 1 mile race. I remember thinking how nice it would be to be in good enough shape to run, but never really consider doing anything about it. This spring I got a wild hair and decided I need to start running. So I ran in my first 5k this weekend and absolutely enjoyed it! I was happy with my time and finished in 27 minutes. My brother and I are going to run in a second run this weekend. Below is a photo of him running with me. After he finished the race he came back and ran the last 10th of a mile with me to encourage me to finish strong. Thanks Todd.

wrapping up the dossier

2009-05-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

This week we finished getting our paperwork authenticated. Currently it is DC being authenticated and whatever else is done there. Our last adoption I knew all the terminology and process backward and forward. This time I feel like I am "winging it". I am not even sure if the right word is authenticated or certified. I guess that is what happens when you are busy with 3 little people and wrapping up a homeschooling year. Hopefully we will have our paperwork back from DC the end of next week and have it sent to China shortly thereafter. Our LID for Corinne was 5/31/2006. Funny if we end up being Logged in on the 31st again.

Vintage sewing & pillowcase dresses, apron skirts

2009-04-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

Business is kind of slow right now so I ventured into a few antique stores this weekend and got some new ideas. I will make some pillowcase dresses, tops, and apron skirts. I saw some pillowcases that had beautiful blue handembroidered edges/tatting. I think they would look great with a monogram in at the top of the dress. I did not buy those pillocases, but email me if you are interested in something like that.

I think these ladies hankerchiefs pictured below are beautiful and decided they would make up into great apron skirts. I will use a coordinating gingham for the main skirt and sew the hankerchif on to look like an apron. They will look great with just a plain white tee. I will sell each skirt for $29. shipping will be $3 Email me if you would like one and I can make it in your size Sold

Antique hankerchiefs with gingham fabric Sold

This is an example of an apron skirt. I do have the patchwork fabric below if you are interested in that fabric - but this is NOT my skirt. I am just using this image to give an example. I can make a skirt with any fabric with added embillishments like pom poms.

Next I found 2 matching handembroidered pillowcases. I am going to sew these into pillowcase dresses. I will use grossgrain ribbon for the ties. The length of the dress will be 28 inches. I can make it shorter but I can not make it longer. They would make darling matching sister dresses. Email me if you would like to purchase - I have only 1 set of these pillowcases. I will sell these dresses for $32. Shipping will be $3

Notice the beautiful tatting along the edge of the case

Below is a handembroiderd rose pillowcase dress. I think it coordinates well with the Amy Butler dot fabric. I plan to make this pillowcase into a top and make matching bloomers or shorts for the bottom. The top will look like a pillowcase dress it will just be made shorter to be a top. I will use grossgrain ribbon for the ties. Email me if you want to order - I have only 1 of this pillowcase. This set will be $42.

Antique pillowcase and orange dot fabric

Picture for a visual for a top and bloomer/short

2 Years ago today

2009-04-07T18:33:00.000-07:00

2 Years ago today Brook and I were in Shanxi province in Taiyuan City, China meeting Corinne for the first time

It is so amazing how much she has changed! I remember when she use to cry and whimper in her sleep. It is such a blessing to now watch her sleep so confidently and peacfully, so securely. It is just a testament of God's grace and healing in her life. The other day someone told Brook "that is an awfully small finger to be wrapped around". They are right we are smitten and wrapped!

She loves to dance, especially with Daddy.

Big girl dress, Easter and a few others

2009-03-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked for a big girl dress. So here it is. It is a size 8 shift style dress. It is made from Amy Butler fabric. It is fulled lined and buttons down the back. It has 2 front pockets that are lined and embellished with a yellow ribbon. I will sell this dress for $46

White/Red seersucker pillowcase dress. The fabric is white background with pink/greens/reds flowers and butterflies. This fabric is pricey and only sold at boutique fabric store. The ties are pink/white gingham. It is a size 4 and sells for $38. I can make this dress in a 12m up to size 8. I can also do it in different fabics. Email me if you have questions.

Amy Butler peasant top and pant. I made this same top in a dress style see previous post. It is also available in a pant style. The pants have a large ruffle around the edge. This outfit is available in size 12m to size 6. It can also be made in other fabrics. It sells for $60

This is Corinne's Easter outfit. It is called the "abby". It is a top that buttons across the front and down the side. I did hand emboidery work on the collar that matches the floral print in the fabric. The fabric is Liberty which runs about $36 a yard. The pants are made from a green micro check. I made piping from this micro check and trimmed the collar and sleeves. I can make this set for you. I can make it in a cheaper fabric and still embillesh the collar with embroidery work. Email me if you want me to send options. In average cost fabric I would probably charge about $74 for the set.

Birthday's, pant set

2009-03-24T13:50:00.000-07:00

Our sweet girl turned 4 last Friday. She loves parties and all the stuff that goes with. She is so into princesses, pink, dress up, ect. Her Aunt took her to get her nails done on friday. She loves brightly painted nails, but her nailbeds are so small they couldn't put a design on the nail. She is still such a tiny little girl - weighing in at 26 pounds at 4 years. She got dress up clothes from grandparents and a new "princess" bike from us. She has loved riding the bike. So we have spent the last few days walking up and down the street as she rides her bike. On Saturday she donned herself in her tinkerbell outfit - wings and all, purse, and put dolls in her bike basket for her mid afternoon ride.Although, she told me on Sunday that she also needs a princess helmet - the yellow bug one no longer will do. We are now coming up on the 2 year anniversary of Corinne's adoption. It is amazing to think we have now had Corinne for 2 years - 1/2 her life in China and 1/2 her life with us. Corinne has many heavenly gifts but there are a few that really standout. She is resilient, persistent, sweet, good hearted, easy going, loves activities. In her 2 years in China she lived with her birth family for 3 months, orphanage, China Care home, and a foster family. That is alot of uprooting for a anyone especially a young child. But she is resilient and fell right into our family and found her place. This is not to say there won't be any abandonment issues but I do think God has bestowed on her gifts that will make it easier for her to deal with when the time comes. Below are some birthday photos. I also included photos of Graham being a great older brother. He is patient with Corinne and always willingly paints her nails. She also loves it when Graham sleeps with her. So her birthday was wrapped up with Graham sleeping with her.

She has a squeal of delight watching her new bike being rolled in.

I love my bike!

Big brother sleeping with me

Getting my nails painted. Glitter pink of course!

I also have another outfit. I can make it in many different fabrics so if you like it email me and I can email you photo's of some fabric options. I think the pants are especially cute in a micro check gingham. The top criss crosses in the front with little ties that pull through button holes and tie into bows. In this outfit I used a chocolate gingham for the ties and I trimmed the top in chocolate gingham piping. The top has a small ruffle that goes around the neck and front of the top. The top of the sleeves have a slight gather on top. The shirt is fully lined. The pants are finished off with a ruffle cuff. I will sell the outfit for $54. Corinne wore this outfit today and had many compliments!

New apron dress and cats

2009-03-12T12:00:00.001-07:00

I love this apron dress. It is hard to find soft pinks and browns that mix well and have a "little girl feel". I was suprised to see how all these fabrics pulled together since I bought them all at different times. This dress will sell for $56. I can make it in size 12m to size 8. It is made from 5 different complimentary fabrics. The straps and hems are made from a pink micro check gingham. 3 of the other fabrics are Amy Butler fabrics.

I also made this cat dress. It is more labor intensive. My daughter loves cats and I thought she would enjoy the dress. It is suppose to look like "cats climbing stairs". The dress is made from a pink micro check gingham. The "stairs" are made from a strip of chocolate brown ric rac running diaganolly down the dress. Each cat is appliqued onto the dress. Small black beads are sewn on for their eyes. I hand embroidered the cats whiskers onto their faces.

Front of the dress

Back of the dress

Yellow tabby. In this photo the color of the dress came out wrong it is a light pink.

171's, snakes, princess, fundraiser giveaway for Fadely family

2009-03-08T18:25:00.000-07:00

Those of you in the adoption community know what a 171 is. Well we got our's last week. We didn't expect to get it till the middle of April. Last time it took 14 weeks to get this precious government form. This time we got it in less than 3 weeks! For those of you wondering "what the heck is a 171". It is a form you need from the government stating you are eligible to adopt and bring home a foreign born child. Now some might wonder why we have a 171 since this was no longer going to be done after March 31st 2007. Brook and I knew we would adopt again and I had been told about the new scary mounds of paperwork for the I800. Last year we decided to go ahead and submit the I600 prior to the March deadline. In Tennessee you have up to 1 year to submit your homestudy. We didn't start our homestudy till December and finished it in January. So what now??? We don't have an agency, we have a competed homestudy, 171, 1/2 our dossier done. We have really stuggled with the whole agency decision especially since we are doing special needs again. We really think we want to use a smaller more attentive agency - if you have an suggestions email away.

Heading states "Notice of favorable determination concerning application for advance processing of orphan petition"

Our girlie girl. I made the hat for Dr. Seuss day at preschool- remember Go dog Go - "Do you like my hat"

Is that really my girl petting a snake?!?

I am lucky to have a community of adoptive mom's. We get togther once a month for a 6:30am breakfast. It is a neat group of Godly women with much wisdom. One of the girls in the group, Tisra Fadley, has received her referral from India. She is a beautiful little girl with a blood disorder. Tisra and her family are doing a fundraiser/give away to raise money for the adoption. It is a raffle giveaway. Some of the prizes are a digital Canon Rebel xs, blog makeover, digital photo frame, wii, ect. Go and check it out. Here is a beautiful photo of her daughter (see below)- Makes you want to go to India! And guess what you can. There are 130 MILLION orphans in the world. UNICEF states that 43% of the children in India are moderate to severe underweight. Here are some other amazing statistics.

---One third of American consider adopting, but less than 2% actually adopt.

--- If 7% of all Christians adopted there would be no more orphans.

Jesus commanded us to care for the orphans. Maybe all aren't called to adopt but we are ALL called to care for them - remember James calls it pure relegion. There are so many ways to help.

The newest Fadley member, waiting in India

Sewing retreat

2009-03-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

I have been sewing with a group of girls for almost 2 years. Each one is so talented and have taught me so much about sewing. Twice a year the group of us go away for the weekend to sew together. This weekend was our "sewing retreat". It is always so much fun and a great time to rest from all of our mama duties. Thank goodness we all have loving husbands that are willing to hold the fort down at home. One daddy even had 6 kids by himself this weekend (only 4 were his). Below I have 3 more new creations.

Amy Butler Peasant dress $40

This are 2 cute coordinating fabrics. The neck edge and sleeve edge have a lettuce edge. I can make this dress in size 12m -6. I can also make this dress as a top and make a ruffle pant out of the dot fabric. For the pant set it is $60

Daisy fun pant and monogram tee $42. The pant is made from an Amy Butler fabric. The hem of the pant is an aqua gingham micro check. The tee is monogrammed with the same gingham. I can make this in a size 12m-8

Cross Tee and apron skirt $42. This skirt is made from 2 coordinating fabrics. It is a size 4/5. The tee is labeled as size 4/5 and measures 15.75 inches from shoulder to hem. The skirts waist measures 21 inches and a little over 12inches in length. The cross is appliqued with a zig zag stitch to allow a little fraying to give a more "vintage" look. I don't know if I can get more of this fabric but contact me if you are interested. I can also make this same style in different fabrics. The cost may vary depending on the expense of the fabric. I can make it in size 2t - 8

Kids, non sewing related

2009-02-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

You know the saying "kids say the darndest things". I have a 4 year old soon to be 5 little boy (Davis) who is always coming up with the funnniest things. We also joke that he has a special relationship with Jesus - he frequently is sharing with me spiritual truths. For example we were in a store and he and his sister were allowed to pick out 1 ornament for their small bedroom Christmas tree (2.5 feet high). The tree has a theme - it is decorated with all faux candy and faux gingerbread cookies. At the store there was the fake candy and some crosses. Davis said I want the cross. I reminded him about the tree "theme" and asked if he was sure he didn't want to stick to that. He looked up at me with those big eyes and in a loud voice said "Mama don't you like crosses" I saw a few shoppers glance my way and smile. Needless to say we went home with the cross. Last weekend Davis got in trouble and when I asked him what had happened he said "Mom Satan just gets in my head and gets it all stirred up" he also told me the next day "mom I think Satan puts on a costume and tries to dress up like God so I will do bad choices." Pretty good theology for a 4 year old. The last Davis story I will share happened today. Today Davis was getting in the car and looked up at me and said "mom I love being me". I told him "it must be alot of fun to get to be you", he said "yeah it sure is".

I will share one Corinne story from today ( remember she has been home for almost 2 years). Corinne was in the car today and I thought she said "ai ai" (something she was called in China). I said to her did you say Gui Ai (her chinese name). She said "no, yucky gui ai". I then said Gui ai is a pretty name. She said "no like Gui ai it is yucky" She abhors it if we say her chinese name and then will tell us to only call her Corinne (her middle name is her chinese name). It is another reminder that eventually all of "this stuff" will come out and have to be dealt with. Right now she is dealing with it at a 3 year old level.

New outfits and older girls and boys

2009-02-22T15:48:00.001-08:00

Size 3t Fairy Callie $48

It measures 21.25 inches in Length

This dress is made from "fairy print" with a white background. The hem, straps, chest are made from a matching lime gingham. The chest and hem are also pipped in a pink & white "whipstitch" piping. I have not sewn the buttons on yet, but I will make lime gingham covered buttons. Personally I love the callie. In the spring you can wear a short sleeve tee underneath the dress, but in the summer wear it without a tee. It looks great on all body types. I can make in a size 6m-6

I made this outfit for another little girl last week. I used a chocolate brown tee and trimmed the skirt in large chocolate brown ric rac. I have a few more brown tees and red tees (in toddler size) if you are intersted in ordering this skirt set.

Size 3t Frannie Ribbon dress, $48

This dress is lined. It measures 19.5 inches long. It has red/white ribbon under the arm that gather the dress when pulled and tie in to a bow. You can gather the dress as tight or loose as your want. The back of the dress has one button at the top. I am now taking orders for this dress. I can make it in size 12m to size 8. I can make also make this dress in the apple/pear fabric and the large yellow floral fabric (see auction item in previous post)

I have had people contact me about making boys clothes. As of right now I don't think I am ready to add boys clothing. In a few months I might start making boys shirts with embroidered tees, but as of right now I don't think I can add that to my plate. I want to add here that I have an amazing friend *Beth* who does all my monogrammed/appliqued tee's for me. My sewing machine embroiders fine on fabric but does a poor job on knit. So Beth offered to do all my t-shirt work for me - it is her gift to my family! Thanks Beth - our new baby appreciates you helping us bring her home!

I have also had people contact me about making larger girls clothing. Most of my patterns go from a size 12m up to a size 8. Some patterns only go to a size 6. If you are intersted in other sizes or outfits in different fabris just email me and I can let you know what is available. Below are good options for a dress for an older girl. These are not actually dresses I have made. It is pictures of patterns I can use for a dress.

A-line Lillian

Criss-cross halter dress or top

Tiered sundress

Home helping older orphans

2009-02-20T18:39:00.001-08:00

I love the Starfish Home and I also love The China Home Foundation. Both of these organizations are similar in that they were both started by people who just "happened" onto the doorsteps of an orphanage and now are changing lives of many.

The China home was started by two amazing young men. I have personally met both of these individuals and I can't say enough about them and their foundation. Here is a brief summary of how it all started and photos

Michael came to China for 5 months before starting law school. 3 years later, in what feels like a different lifetime, he is still here. Michael had been teaching English in Luoyang when he discovered the city orphanage. Curious about orphan care in China, he requested a visit. The orphanage staff agreed for Michael and a friend to take what they believed would be a brief tour of the facility. When they arrived, they were ushered into a large room on the 6th floor and told "you can begin the English class now!". Michael recalls spending the next 2 hours improvising with 50 kids following him around pointing at objects saying "blue" and "dog".
What was supposed to be a 40 minute tour lasted until the kids were going to bed that evening. In that brief time, Michael began to form a real connection with these kids. As the kids prepared for bed, Michael and his friend gave out lots of hugs and said goodbye. Then came the moment that changed Michael's life. Timmy (an adorable then 7-year-old boy) walked up to him and asked, "big friend, will you come back tomorrow?". Michael couldn't say anything but yes, and as he likes to say, he has been going back every tomorrow since. In the years that have followed, Michael has spent almost every day with these amazing kids, and has served the role of Uncle/Teacher/Friend/Mentor/Personal Assistant/Photographer/Cruise Director/Santa Claus. He often says that if you told him that this would be his life 3 years ago, he would have laughed at you, but now he wouldn't trade it for anything. He considers himself a deeply blessed man to have these kids in his life.

In June of 2008, Michael met Mike Shook, who had been working in Beijing with the New Hope Foundation – the end of a two year tour assisting with orphan care projects throughout the world. They immediately formed a deep friendship and later that summer Mike decided to move to Luoyang to join Michael in his work. During a now infamous bus ride to Pizza Hut (yes we have Pizza Hut in Luoyang!), Michael and Mike shared information and discovered that the entire 5th floor of the orphanage would be vacated by its current occupant, however, all of the healthy, older kids would remain on the 4th and 6th floors of the facility. Thus sprung the idea that there may be potential to move into the floor and begin to work with the kids on a larger level.
By the amazing grace of God and the endless generosity of their friends at the New Hope Foundation, they have now been given the opportunity to move onto the 5th floor and turn what was once a dream into reality. In March of 2009 the floor will be vacated and the newly established China Home Foundation will be able to move onto the floor. Our vision is to provide a place that the kids can call "home" and where they have the unconditional love, encouragement, and confidence necessary to be creative and learn skills that will enable them to transition from life at the orphanage to life outside the orphanage when they reach the age to leave.

In June of 2008, Michael met Mike Shook, who had been working in Beijing with the New Hope Foundation – the end of a two year tour assisting with orphan care projects throughout the world. They immediately formed a deep friendship and later that summer Mike decided to move to Luoyang to join Michael in his work. During a now infamous bus ride to Pizza Hut (yes we have Pizza Hut in Luoyang!), Michael and Mike shared information and discovered that the entire 5th floor of the orphanage would be vacated by its current occupant, however, all of the healthy, older kids would remain on the 4th and 6th floors of the facility. Thus sprung the idea that there may be potential to move into the floor and begin to work with the kids on a larger level.
By the amazing grace of God and the endless generosity of their friends at the New Hope Foundation, they have now been given the opportunity to move onto the 5th floor and turn what was once a dream into reality. In March of 2009 the floor will be vacated and the newly established China Home Foundation will be able to move onto the floor. Our vision is to provide a place that the kids can call "home" and where they have the unconditional love, encouragement, and confidence necessary to be creative and learn skills that will enable them to transition from life at the orphanage to life outside the orphanage when they reach the age to leave.

Now Micheal and Mike are developing 2 of the orphanage floors to serve these older children that need "life skill" training. So many of us assume you just know how to cook, clean, shop, save money, attend to a home, ect but so often these are skills acquired through observing. The children residing in the orphanage have no opportunity to observe these skills and they need to be taught. These children are also experiencing being loved and valued. They are also allowed to do extra extracuricular activities. In fact you can donate to send the kids on a "special outing". You can also sponsor a child. You will recieve updates on your child via video! You actually get a video of your child. Their website is still being developed but if you would like more info or would like to donate/sponsor let me know and I can get you the info. They also have a facebook account where they post updates/pictures.

What I have been working on

2009-02-16T13:35:00.001-08:00

I just completed sewing for 2 orders. Two mom's ordered the Portabellopixie apron dress. It turned out really cut. I am going to be sewing more apron dresses and I am going to sew "apron skirts". The skirts are cute. They will probably be tiered skirts with a faux apron sewn on - very similar to the dress. I have a few more orders to wrap up this week and then I will try to sew a "new creation". Thanks again for all the families supporting us. I have especially enjoyed knowing something about the little girls I am sewing for. I am not sure what I will sell the skirts for. I first need to make up a few and see what kind of time I have in each one. In the future I will sell the appliqued apron dresses for $68. I can make in size 12m to size 8

1 Slot left

2009-02-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

I have 1 slot left to recieve the 10% off on an order or already made item.
Stefanie

New items for sale and future items

2009-02-08T16:02:00.001-08:00

The first 10 people to purchase or order an item will receive 10% off.

I have sewn a few things over the weekend. I am also posting a description of items I will be sewing over the next few weeks. If you see something you like but it is not in your size please email me and I might be able to make the item. If you like anything I am making in the next few weeks email me and I can go ahead and make it in your size. Also, I am creating a email list for people who would like to be notified when new items are made. If you would like to be added to the list email me your email address and I will add you. Thanks for looking!

Sold
Red monogrammed Tee with peasant skirt 3T $38

Skirt measures 11.25 inches long, waist 18.5in

I will monogram the tee with your childs 1st initial. I will use the pear fabric for the monogram and I will use a large script -meaning the initial will be large on the tee.

Sold

Yellow Fish bloomer and summer wrap top sz 2t/3t $42. I think this runs large so that is why I list as a 2t/3t. The top measures 15.5 in long. The bloomers waist is 18in. My daughter is on the small size and wears a 2t and 3t and is 24 pounds

Red seersucker gingham & strawberry reversable top with strawberry bloomers $42. I have this in a 2t/3t and a size 18m. The measurements are same as above. The top & bloomers are trimmed in a white ric rac. I did not photo the bloomers because I am still working on them.

This next sundress is something I will be sewing soon. It is a darling sundress. It has side ribbon tie that cause the dress to gather under the arm. It has a button closure in the back at the neck. I will be making the collerless version of the sundress. It is lined.

This is the fabric I will use. I will use the stripe ribbon for the side ties.

I will also make this wrap tie top and capri pant soon. The top has a ruffle that goes around the neck and down the middle where it wraps. It has ties in the front that close the top.

This is the fabric I will use for the above item. I will use the white for the top. I will use the red piping between the top and the ruffle on the top. I will make the pant out of the micro check yellow gingham.

This is a portabellopixie knot apron dress. I will make the dress just like the photo below. This dress requires alot of fabric so it is pricey. I will probably have to charge $70 for this dress. You can go to the following web page to see the item better http://sandihendersondesign.com/catalog.htm?item=2

These are the fabrics used.

Support another family raising funds - neat T-shirt

2009-02-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

I follow another blog that is raising funds to bring home two children from Ethiopia. They already have 4 children (2bio, 2 adopted from China). Gwen has designed a very creative and Poignant t-shirt. See Below. The shirts sell for $25
http://www.oatsvallteam.blogspot.com/
Back of Shirt

Front of Shirt

Here is an excerpt from Gwens blog. "I DESIGNED THEM TO CAUSE PEOPLE TO TALK ... I pictured the Daisy as people would say "You Love Me, You Love Me Not?" and it hit me ... It is a personal choice to love the orphans, but it is a mandate from the Father that we all care for them in some way ... WHAT DOES CARING LOOK LIKE FOR YOU ... It could be adopting, sponsoring a child, helping someone fund their adoption, clothes drives/food drives for orphanages, volunteering at a non-profit, interim care, or simply buying this t-shirt to help bring my children home ... I know I am saying this to the choir... You, my blog family, have been amazing at caring for the orphans, so many of you are ACTING and we are changing this world !!! Let's keep talking about them to others and get more people involved ... "

I hope to have 2-3 more outfits up by the end of the weekend. One will be a 3t monogrammed tee with peasant skirt, the other 2 will be 2t bloomer and top set.

Outfits for sale

2009-02-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

Please go down in read my first post to read more about this blog and its purpose and how it works. I did not advertise my blog until the design was completed by http://www.customblogdesigns.blogspot.com/ - she gives some of her proceeds to support the Starfish home in Xian.

I have donated one of my outfits to http://www.justonechildatatime.blogspot.com/ This is an auction - all proceeds go to the Starfish home. Scroll to the bottom of this post if you would like to view the donated item. Or click the link above. I guess they will post it in the next few days.

Here is a list of outfits I have for sale. I will sell the outfit to whoever emails me first babslb@bellsouth.net
Cherry 2 piece top and ruffle pant size 4 $60

The outfit is large on my daughter since she is a 3t. The pants length is 20.5 inches. The pants are made from a cherry print with a light pink background. The double ruffles on the pant and the top are made from a red and white gingham print. The top ties at the neck and has an elastic back .

Gathered Bodice ribbon tie dress size 4 $40

This dress has a gathered bodice. The hem of the dress is a aqua and white gingham. The ties are grosgrain ribbon. The background of the dress is light pink. The dress measures 21.5 inches from the top of the bodice to the hem. Of course it is actually longer if you measure from the ties to hem, but the ties are of course adjustable so I did not measure from there.

Peasant top and capri pant size 3t $45

This peasant top measures 11.75 inches from shoulder to hem. Sewn to the hem of the top is a grosgrain ribbon that is soft pink with white polka dots. The pants are pale yellow that measure 18.25inches in length. The pants have a slits on the side and have the same soft pink ribbon sewn on the hem of the pants. The pants also have back pockets that also have the ribbon sewn onto the pocket. Unfortunatly this outfit was hard to photograph to show the ribbon and pant color.

Amy Butler sundress size 2T $48

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This dress is made from 2 Amy Butler coordinating fabrics. The dress ties at the shoulders. The dress measures 17 inches from top of bodice to hem. Of course it is longer when you include the ties. It has 2 lined front pockets.

The item below was donated to the auction site mentioned above. The dress is a size 4.

This dress is made with a matching pink ric rac that goes around the bodice of the dress and hem. I do have more of this fabric and can do a special order.

Selling of my creations

2009-02-02T05:03:00.001-08:00

I will post outfits that are ready to be sold. If you would like to purchase the item email me at babslb@bellsouth.net . I will then send you a paypal invoice or you can send a money order. Once an item is sold I will mark it as "sold". In some instances I can take orders for an outfit if you need a different size. It will depend on how much fabric I have. If you see a fabric you like but want it in a different style email me babslb@bellsouth.net I plan on sewing some new styles and fabrics in the upcoming weeks. If you are a portabellopixie fan - come back soon. I hope to have a dress or 2 sewn in the upcoming weeks. I am ordering the fabric today.
I pride myself on doing the little "extra's that make the clothing nice. When I make a garment I always have finished edges. Meaning there are no seams that will fray. I either serge all my seams or make a nice french seam. A french seam means that the edge or seam is hidden in the fold of the garmet. Another example is I line all my pockets. Many patterns don't call for the pockets to be lined but I think it looks so much better. I also like to add ric rac/pom poms/ ribbon to my outfits. It is an extra step for me but I think it adds alot.

If you like my things please spread the word about my blog. I have a blog button to the right with the code you can copy and post. Like I stated in an earlier post all my funds will go towards the expenses of our second adoption. I will also tithe a portion of the funds I make to the Starfish home. If you are not familiar with Starfish visit their blog or website. http://www.chinesestarfish.blogspot.com/ Amanda is doing wonderful and amazing things to care for orphans in China. There is a link on my sidebar to a place called "one child at a time" This is an online auction that raises money for Starfish. I plan to periodically donate some of my clothing to them to raise money..

First Entry

2009-01-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

This is my first entry to our new family blog. When we adopted our first daughter I blogged about the journey. Her blog is www.journeytocorinne.com As we are finishing up the paperwork for our second adoption I decided to go ahead and start a blog to document the journey. I also started a blog to serve as a venue to sell childrens clothing that I sew. We are still recovering from the expenses of our first adoption along with medical expenses we have incurred. I have followed a few blogs of other adoptive moms who sew and sell their creations. I love to sew and create and decided that this is a way I can contribute to our adoption fund. In my next entry I will tell a little bit about my sewing and things I am working on.