Pictures from Yesterday / Orphanage Visit Today

Just a few pictures from yesterday to start off:

Hannah flying a kite with a man we met in the park

Sadie trying out her new hat

Look out Hollywood - I have two acresses now!

Today was a good day and an interesting day and an exhausting day all rolled into one. After breakfast, Sadie and I headed to the orphanage with our guide and driver. Hannah stayed with Beth for some "down time". She had a great time and it was exactly the day she needed. She went swimming, had lunch at McDonald's, took a nap, and then watched movies and played in the room. When I got back later that afternoon, she was in a great mood and very relaxed and so sweet all evening. I so appreciate Beth giving her some much needed one-on-one attention today.

So, Sadie did well on the trip to Taizhou, her city. It was a long drive, but interesting to see the countryside and smaller cities along the way. Very different from the big cities we have stayed in. We got to the orphanage about 11:00 a.m. and as soon as we pulled up, three people ran to the van and literally whisked Sadie out and passed her among them. She was so happy to see them and was literally squealing and laughing. They took her off to play and visit while my guide and I visisted with the doctor and some of the officials of the orphanage. They answered some questions and I was able to give them some gifts and give them pictures of about 5 other families that have previously adopted from the orphanage. They loved looking at those pictures and it seemed to mean a lot to them. Emily- if you're reading this, they really oohed and aahed over Molly's pictures. But they looked at every single picture and every note and took their time carefully. They said they were putting the pictures in a large memory book they keep. Then, I got to visit the room Sadie lived in her first 2.5 years. It was a very different experience than visiting Hannah's orphanage. I guess because I always knew Hannah didn't spend a lot of time there. But Sadie lived there. It was a small room with about 10 cribs. There were 7 children in there (that's all that's in the orphanage now). Four were babies, two were toddlers, and one was a little 4 year old boy. The two youngest (2 months and 4 months) were girls and did not have special needs. The other five were all boys with some type of special need. I was allowed to take pictures of Sadie with the nanny and of Sadie's crib. But, I was asked not to get pictures of the other children. The workers were all VERY nice and friendly and Sadie obviously liked them a lot. They obviously liked her a lot too. That was good to see. The director of the orphanage was her favorite. Any time he walked in the room, she immediately reached her arms out for him. At one point, we walked by his office and his screen saver picture was Sadie dressed for her trip to Nanjing the day we got her. I commented on that and he motioned me over and started clicking. There were about 12 pictures of her that day with a variety of staff and in front of the orphanage on his computer. It was actually bittersweet I think for them and for me in some ways. That orphanage was no place for her to grow up...it was tiny and all the kids were delayed and there were not but two or three toys. I saw kids doing typical orphanage things like the four year old boy was walking in circles and another baby was in a crib and started to bang his head. The four month old was very alert and just watched everyone and cried if people got to far away. She just wanted some attention. So in that sense, it was not a good place at all. And yet, I can't deny that the people there seem to really care about the kids and do the best they can. And perhaps because it's all she's known, to Sadie - it's home. She was happy to be there and very sad to leave. I just pray the day comes soon that she realizes her new home is in fact, HOME.

After our visit, the director invited us to lunch. So we walked across the street to a restaurant where we were shown to a banquet room. Oh my - the food. It was a big round table with a big lazy susan filled with food. And they kept adding more and more food. Most of it was very good. My guide was great about prepping me by telling me what the food was before I tried it. But, I'm pretty adventurous so I tried most things. It was a lot of fun and randomly throughout the meal, people would stand up and toast someone else at the table and drink. Apparently, everytime you took a drink you were supposed to say "Gumbai" to someone (which means "cheers"). After several rounds of this, people settled and ate, and then someone would start it all over. Thanks to my guide's prompting, I think I "Gumbai"'d everyone I was supposed to at some point during the meal. Then everyone started laughing and talking and somehow the conversation turned to what the equivalent in English was and my guide said "cheers". But then she taught them the phrase "bottoms up". Then it got funny. The director kept toasting people and saying "bottoms up!" and laughing. He was a very nice man and talked about his wishes for Sadie to grow up and get a good education. He said they were organizing a trip (the orphanage staff) and decided to come to my house in America to visit her! All the staff talked about Sadie's friend Molly who was adopted several months ago. They were very happy when I told them she only lived a couple hours away. They expressed their hope that the girls could again "have relationship" and be friends. Finally, it was time to leave. I thought the director was going to cry, but instead he laughed. Sadie however did cry - a lot. She cried about 30 minutes adn then fell asleep in my arms. She woke up and was very sad. But she did not want me to put her down. However, she also wanted nothing to do with me..just my lap and that was it. She cried a little off and on through the rest of the trip. It was sad, but when we got back to the hotel, she was a different child. She spent the afternoon playing and interacting with all of us so much more than she had before. She and Hannah danced. She hugged me (of her own free will), and she ate supper really well. She is now alseep. The trip was hard for her, but I hope it gave her some sort of closure to have gone. I hope in her little mind, it gave her some kind of permission to let go and embrace her new life. A big task for such a little girl.

Sadie with the director of the orphanage

Sadie with one of the nannies in her room. The crib behind them with the red blanket was Sadie's crib.

Hannah and Sadie - aren't they both beautiful!

Tomorrow we do some more sightseeing here in Nanjing. Friday we will pick up Sadie's passport and head to Guangzhou. I think we're all ready for the next leg of the trip. Once again, thanks for your thoughts and prayers for my family. We are doing good. Today wasn't the easiest day, but it turned out to be a good day. Good for all of us I think.

Sorry - no pictures..but here's our day

Well, I'm sorry, but you don't get pictures today. The computer Beth brought won't let me onto blogger here in Nanjing (it's the hotel - not her computer). I can get on it in the business center to post, but can only upload pictures on one of the computers. It's been busy for a while with other users...so, you get a no picture post. I have some cute ones though - keep checking. I also can't actually see the blog or comments.

Anyway, overall today was a good day, but it had it's ups and downs. Both my girls slept GREAT last night which was a huge praise. We headed back to the office of civil affairs this morning to complete the adoption paperwork. As soon as we arrived, Sadie reached her arms out for the nanny that had brought her. She completely came alive for her and the director who she also likes very much. It was kind of sad in a way to see the difference, but also good to glimpse a bit of her personality that she hasn't shown us yet. The good news is when they left, she waved bye and was okay. After that, we headed to a park. Hannah especially needed a chance to just run and climb and play and she got that chance today. Sadie also enjoyed it, but was a lot more hesitant. I think it was all new to her. Her motor skills are definately delayed some, but she seemed interested enough in trying things that I bet it won't take long for her to catch up. What we've seen of her so far is general delays in all areas - in many ways she's more like an 18 month old or young 2 year old than 2.5 years. But, she's already imitating big sister some...

After we played, we ate lunch and headed back to the hotel. Hannah went down for a nap easily after all the running and playing. Sadie did not. She cried hard for a long time and finally fell asleep. She slept about 30 minutes and woke up crying hard..it's the first time she's grieved or cried hard since they handed her to us and to be honest, I was sad for her, but also glad to see that. It's a much healthier response than the blank look we had been getting some before. During the afternoon, Sadie livened up some and was blowing kisses, laughing at Hannah's antics and generally showing more of herself. She still has a long way to go though.

Hannah meanwhile who had been GREAT yesterday and this morning, had a tough afternoon. Her "green eyes" showed up more this afternoon. Anytime Sadie was in my lap, Hannah wanted to be in my lap. When we went for a walk later, Hannah developed a horrible "pain" that made her need to go back to the hotel...of course, as soon as we made it to the hotel, her "pain" was healed completely. I made it a point some to let Beth push Sadie in the stroller so I could walk with my big girl and give her some attention. It's tough though because while Hannah is the one who demonstrates her need for attention very clearly, Sadie does not. And yet I know that at this moment, she especially needs it a lot too.

Tomorrow is the orphanage visit. The plan was for us all to go, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to leave Hannah at the hotel with Beth for a fun day of swimming and McDonald's and undivided attention. Meanwhile, I'm going to take Sadie with me to visit her orphanage and shower her with some undivided attention too. Because this plan involves swimming and McD's, Hannah is very happy with it. The two of them actually get along very well right now. When I step back, Hannah is so sweet and gentle and loving and Sadie seems to just adore Hannah. It's only when I interact with Sadie, that Hannah's eyes turn green. I did think it was cute today though, Hannah had been whining a bit and we got on an elevator and a man got on too close to Sadie for Hannah's comfort. Hannah stepped between them and said "This is MY sister" . (and her unspoken words were "don't mess with her!").

Hopefully soon I can let you see some pictures. I have a great one of Sadie's first taste of ice cream...let's just say she didn't like the cold AT ALL!
I also have a great one of Hannah and Sadie flying a kite with an older man we saw at the park. He was so sweet to them and spent a long time with Hannah especially. She does seem to be making lots of friends here. People think she can speak Chinese so they walk up to her and say something in Chinese. She answers with "Nihao" (which means hello) and then continues the conversation in English. It's fun to watch.

Well, I'm off to bed. Our drive to the orphanage is 3 hours tomorrow, so it will be a long day.
love, DeEtte

She's Here!!

What an amazing day! This morning we headed to the Civil Affairs office to meet Sadie. There were four families total today, but we were early and actually were almost finished by the time everyone else arrived. Sadie came in with the orphanage director and two nannies. They obviously cared for her very much. She cried some, but not really too much. The separation from the orphanage workers was a bit tough for her, but that's to be expected. We left in a van and I gave her a sucker lollipop which calmed her right down. Hmm..flash back to two years ago - that worked for her sister too! We went shopping to buy a stroller, some snacks, and supplies. Sadie (who we are calling by her Chinese nickname for the time being: GangGang - pronounced gong-gong) loved the store. After that, she has been great all day. She ate a very good lunch, took a good nap, and over the afternoon and evening slowly warmed up to playimg. We also went shoe shopping since we had none that would fit her. She has been slow to warm up and she has that hypervigilant look all the time. Her eyes are noticing everything as she tries to make sense of all that has happened. She did treat us to some smiles and laughs this afternoon and evening though. Hannah has been wonderful and actually coaxed Sadie's first words out of her "jie jie" (which means big sister). I *think* I heard her try to say "Give me dat" tonight, which would definately be in imitation of Hannah! The orphanage workers told us she still takes a bottle, but she has already showed that she can drink from a straw and from a sippy cup just fine. She has tried chopsticks, fork, and spoon and well - considering she had noodles for lunch and spaghetti for supper, she's about as good with utensils as any 2 year old eating that. She has great control of a couple of fingers on both hands and so has used those couple of fingers to do most things. So far, Sadie has been mostly quiet and observant. But she has a sweet spirit and a sweet smile and a cute little laugh. She's tiny..definately can't wear Hannah's pass me down 3's yet. I think 2's will be okay..but she can wear the one 18 months pants I brought too.

It has been truly amazing to watch my two girls today. I know there will be issues and jealously and things to work out...but right now everything just feels so right. We belong together as a family. Hannah has asked half a dozen times today "can we keep my sister Sadie PLEASE". Yes, yes, yes - we are keeping her. She belongs with us. God has once again done amazing wonderful things.

Thank you so much for the sweet comments and the prayers. You are making a difference even now. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Sadie has a lot more adjusting over the next few days and weeks and months. So do the other two of us. Tomorrow we return to the office of Civil Affairs to complete the adoption paperwork. And Wednesday, we will visit the orphanage. Those events were not a big deal for Hannah, but since she lived in a foster family, the orphanage staff and the orphanage itself held no real meaningingful place in her life. I believe her foster family was meaningful, but we were not given the opportunity to meet them. But, for Sadie, the orphanage staff is the only family she's ever known. I'm a little concerned that it will be hard for her to see them again and worry what she will think when she returns to the orphanage to visit. I do plan to have our guide explain to her that we are visiting only and she will return to the hotel with us afterwards..but at two, it's hard to make her understand. So, that's my prayer request for the next couple of days.

I will try to post more pictures either tomorrow night or Wednesday night. Thanks for following our journey!

love, DeEtte, Hannah, and Sadie (and of course Beth - who once again managed pictures and video of our "gotcha moment" like a pro!)

Oh, What an Adventure...

We arrived in Nanjing yesterday. VERY LATE. I'm having a bit of trouble with blogger so can't post pictures right now. But, I'll try later. Yesterday, we arrived at the Beijing airport about 2:00 p.m. for our 5:00 flight. At first, there seemed to be a problem wtih our tickets...we waitied forever in two different lines and had about five people check our passports before finally being cleared and getting boarding passes. Turns out they could only find one of us in the computer, and after literally close to an hour, they found the other two. So, with boarding passes in hand, we head through security. Ah..security. Beth goes through first - no problem. Then Hannah - no problem. Then me..I set the detectors off because I forgot to take off my watch. So, after the wands and all..they become convinced I am not carrying anything illegal on my person. No metal other than the watch. (Total inside joke - but it's a good thing I was not carrying any nails too!) Then, my bags go through. Oops - flagged again. The security person opens my bag, digs around, and finally finds what must be the problem - my deoderant. After she opens it, smells it (powder fresh, by the way), she hands it to me and then sends my bag through again. But, there's another problem...more digging and she takes out the saline nasal spray I had in there. It was sealed and she called three different people to look at it. I told her the nasal spray didn't matter - I'd leave it. But, no - that wasn't good enough. She politely orders me to open it. So, I break the seal and open it. She smells it..she sends me to another counter. The lady had two other people look at it. Finally, she says - "show me". What? I didn't understand. Then, I got it - she was asking me to demonstrate using the nasal spray. I did. She nodded and pointed to the other side of my nose. Yes - she wanted me to use it again. It was so absurd it was comical. Finally, she hands it back, smiles, and says "it's okay". We still have a little time to kill, so we stop for frozen yogurt. Finally, we head our gate and wait to board. Oh, but no - that would be too easy. Our plane is delayed. How long? we all wonder. The attendant I guess gets tired of people asking so she finally hangs a sing up listing our flight number that says "NO TIME". In other words - there is no estimated time. Great. Our gate was downstairs in the basemement area of the airport where there was nothing - no shops, no restaurant, no bathrooms. Finally, I brave the mob by the gate to approach and ask "What does 'no time' mean". I'm wondering if we have time to go upstairs and eat supper, or use the bathroom, or what. She tells me our plane is still in Japan so it will be at least three hours. Yep, there was time to use the bathroom and eat. :-) All in all, our flight was delayed four hours. Hannah was AMAZING! She hung in there so well. We finally arrived in Nanjing about midnight. And we had a wonderful sight - our guide was waiting for us with a sign with my name on it! We all hugged her! Somehow she had found out we were delayed and waited on us!

Anyway, we are now in Nanjing and have had a good day. We visited a museum today and checked out the surrounding shops. Hannah has been tired and moody today - but who wouldn't after yesterday. We're hoping for a really good night's sleep tonight for everyone. And tomorrow, we meet Sadie!! We will meet her at 10:30 a.m. which for those of you at home is 9:30 p.m. Sunday night. Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next few days. It is becoming so real right now. I can't wait to hold her for the first time tomorrow. Please pray for Hannah too. She has been so wonderful and a much better traveller than I imagined. But, as our days here continue, I think she is acting a little more "needy" which is completely understandable. Please pray that I can be sensitive to meet her needs while at the same time meeting Sadie's needs which I know will be very intense at first. It'll be the first lessons in the balancing act of raising sisters I'm sure. Having Beth here helps tremendously with this, but sometimes Hannah still needs my attention. Somehow, I will get you pictures of Sadie tomorrow evening or the next day. Either blogger will let me post, or I'll e-mail them to someone to post for me. Our guide has visited her orphanage several times and knows her. She says they are all so happy she is getting adopted and they all seem to love her.

Well, I'm off to put Hannah to bed now and put myself there soon. Tomorrow is a BIG DAY!! As Hannah has been saying "I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE!". :-)
love, DeEtte

Beijing Day 2

We had a really fun day today. We hung out in our hotel room most of the morning, and Hannah tested out the swimming pool. This afternoon, we had a tour of a hutong neighborhood, which is a old Beijing neighborhood that shows the way people lived before everything here became so modern. There are still numerous families that live in these hutongs, but they are becoming less and less. We rode rickshaws for the tour, which was really neat.

(That's our guide in the rickshaw with Beth by the way..)

After walking through the neighborhoods, we visited a drum tower and saw a performance.

We then visited a family that lived in the hutong and had a chance to ask questions and talk about how they lived. Finally, we ended our day with an acrobat performance. A fun day, and I'm glad we took advantage of it, but I'm so ready for the next part of the journey. Tomorrow, we have free time around here most of the morning, and then head to the airport in the afternoon. We fly out tomorrow evening to go to Nanjing, where Sadie soon will be. I actually get her on the 5th we think.

Thanks for the good wishes, thoughts, and prayers!

Pictures from Summer Palace

Pictures from yesterday at our visit to the Summer Palace

Climbing a tree - probably Hannah's favorite part of the actual palace.

Riding in the dragon boat - definately her favorite part of the day!

Attempting chopsticks at dinner....

More chopstick practice!

We're in front of the "Lion of Longetivity' in the Summer Palace.



A Dragon Boat!

We're Here!

Just a quick note to tell you all we are here and doing well. I have some pics, but will wait to post then probably tomorrow night. We had a slight adventure getting to our hotel when we arrived since the guide who was suppossed to meet us at the airport wasn't there. Yep, no guide. But, being the world travellers that we are, we did not panic. We just handled it. We changed money at the airport, gave the help desk our hotel name and asked them to write it in Chinese, and got in a taxi. At the hotel, we had a message to call our guide. He actually is great and it was so not his fault. He had paperwork showing us arriving on a different flight then we did, and he had been at the airport waiting on us hours earlier...

Anyway, we basically CRASHED! Hannah did FABULOUS on the plane, but didn't sleep much. She fell completely apart 10 minutes before we landed and by 5 minutes before we landed, she was sound asleep. poor baby! She slept 10 straight hours when we got to our hotel..only problem is that it was from 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. ! Well, yes, she's been up since 2 a.m. Actually now at 2p.m she has just fallen asleep for a nap. I plan to wake her in a couple hours with the bribe to hit the swimming pool so maybe she can then make it until tonight and be on the right time zone.

Today, we toured the summer palace. It was nice but WAY too crowded for my tastes. We did get to ride on a dragon boat on the lake and that was fun. My four year old completely enjoyed that experience, especially since her favorite Kai-Lan episode is the dragon boat races one.
For those of you who have seen the show, they say 'NiHao..say Nihao"..and then the character encourages everyone with "SUPER". Hannah's been telling everyone we see "Nihao..SUPER!"

Well, I 'm off to take a quick nap too. I'll post more tomorrow evening.
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

3 MORE DAYS!

I leave on TUESDAY!! EARLY!! I'm excited. I've done the "big things" that need to be done - well, except packing. Everything is thrown on my bed at the moment. I either have to pack it tonight to go to bed or sleep on the couch! At this hour, I'm thinking it's going to be sleep on the couch tonight. This will probaby be my last post from the U.S. - unless some major news happens. I will do my best to post from China. I know I can at the White Swan in Guangzhou and I figure I *probably* can in Nanjing, but we'll see.

Here's our basic itenerary for those who are curious:

April 29th - Fly out of Birmingham earlier than the rooster gets up, short layover in Newark, NJ and then on to Beijing

April 30th - Arrive Beijing at 1:50 p.m. (check in hotel, rest, eat supper, sleep)

May 1 - Beijing: Tour Summer palace in the morning and then have free time the rest of the day

May 2 - Beijing: Take a Hutong Tour (old Beijing neighborhoods) in the morning, free time in the afternoon, see an acrobat show in the evning

May 3 - Morning free time, fly to Nanjing late afternoon

May 4 - Hang out in Nanjing, shop for supplies, get ready!

May 5 - Meet Sadie!! She will be with us from this point on!

May 6 - Complete official adoption paperwork (I'm guessing it's this day, just from the way things worked last time)

May 7 and 8 - Hang out in Nanjing / sightsee or shop / take a trip to Taizhou to visit Sadie's orphanage (about 2.5 hours from Nanjing from what I've heard)

May 9 - Pick up Sadie's passport and fly to Guangzhou

May 10 - 11 - Medical exam in Guangzhou (brief, very simple), shop and /or tour

May 12 - U.S. Consulate appointment (I don't actually go to this. My guide does it for me, but I have to be in my hotel room so she can call if there are questions.)

May 13 - Late afternoon trip to consulate to pick up Sadie's passport with U.S. Visa and for the swearing-in ceremony. Take an evening train to Hong Kong and spend one night in a hotel there.

May 14 - morning flight out of Hong Kong to Newark, NJ. When Sadie gets off the plane in Newark, she will officially be a U.S. Citizen! We'll have a fairly long layover in Newark and then fly to Birmingham!! We arrive in Birmingham Airport a little after 9:30 p.m. if the flight is on time. (Didn't happen last time - we didn't arrive until close to midnight) **PRAY FOR SLEEP FOR ALL OF US ON THE PLANE - ESPECIALLY THE TWO UNDER 5!!!!


In other news, here's a couple pics of my first baby. I can't believe how much she's growing up!! I've enjoyed spending some sweet time with her some this week in between all the preparing and packing and getting ready to go.

Ballet: First Position with punk rock star hair?? This was suppossed to be Hannah's costume for her dance recital (minus the hair - that was her own addition) but we are missing her recital to be in China. She didn't mind a bit because she got the costume anyway since we'd already paid for it. That was what it was all about to her anyway - get the dress!

Hannah's cousin Elizabeth spent the night with us last weekend. The girls enjoyed staying up late to watch a movie and giggling when they were suppossed to be sleeping.

Of course, I know some of you will be checking in on us during our China trip. Don't forget to check in after we get home too for the adventures of the two sisters. Hannah's going to play Tblall this summer which should be a lot of fun to watch!! At least with tball, there's a place for yelling in cheering your team on! I overheard her dance teacher tell her one week "Hannah - ballet is a QUIET dance" ha!!

I can't thank you all enough for your love, suport, and encouragement for me and my family. Please continue to keep us in your prayers in the next couple weeks: safe travels, adjustment of Sadie, adjustment of Hannah, okay - adjustment of all of us! Pray for Sadie's sleep, Hannah's sleep, and MY sleep. And I'm sure Beth would appreciate some sleep too!! I'm a much nicer person when I get some sleep! And I'll sleep better if the girls are sleeping. It's going to be a great trip. God is doing amazing things....stay tuned!

This and That..free bedding, suggestions, good news

FREE BEDDING!

You may remember we got new quilts for Hannah and Sadie's beds. I have her old set (1 comforter, 1 pilow sham, 1 bedskirt - all twin size) that I think are cute. But, I'm in decluttering mode. I'm short on closet space and don't want to store them. I don't have the time / energy at the moment to sell them and ship them. I was about to take them to thrift store, but decided to post here first. If anyone wants them, they are free! The only catch - you have to come get them at my house before I go to China. If they're not gone by next weekend, they're going to the thrift store. :-) If you work with me or go to church with me, I can bring them to school or church - otherwise, you have to come get them. Also, I have the knobs from her dressor (we've changed them to princess knobs) if you want them. They are red plaid - not seen very well in the photo - sorry. Furniture is not going and neither is doll. These go to the first person to request them (by comment, e-mail, or phone).

SUGGESTIONS NEEDED!

I love to read and if a book is good, I can finish it in one night. My general rule of thumb is not to start a book if I don't have time to finish it within a couple days..because if I like it, I will put other things off so I can finish it. I haven't read much lately because, well..I haven't had time..so I haven't started much. Except I did read one book the night Hannah was in the hospital while she slept. But, I will be in the plane for many hours. And yes, I have 2 children to entertain on the way back, but on the way there I only have one, who will watch movies and draw some, and will sleep some. (hopefully a lot..but I can't promise that). So, I'm looking for book suggestions to take with me. I want to take 2 books. At least one of them I want to be a fiction book "just for fun". The other can be fiction, devotional, whatever... So, what are you favorite books?? Leave a comment and let me know.

Good News!

I got word today that I received a small grant from Gift of Adoption fund! God continues to be faithful in providing for these fees and while I'm not there yet (travel is on my credit card for now..), I'm getting closer literally day by day. I admit to getting a bit anxious at times as to *how* He's going to come through on this, but you know..that's not my job to figure out how. I know I've done all I can do, and as it stands right now, I'm getting on a plane to China in 10 days. If I have to figure out a portion of the travel costs when I get back, then that's okay. And truly, I can cover the majority of it now, but have chosen not to so that I don't have to worry about being short on my other expenses. I found out early this week that my in-china fees rose by $2000 effective now. So, that kind of stunk to be honest...but I have known it was a possibility for a while. But, between the grant I got today and several gifts this week..that has taken care of the increase. So, today, I'm giving thanks for all that God has provided both through this grant and even more so through the support of others. When I look at all God has done, I stand amazed. This song that we sing in my church sometimes has been running through my head the last few days..or really just a couple lines of it. "Your love is amazing, steady and unchanging, your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet". I mean really...there is no way I should be able to complete this adoption right now if it was all looked at in human terms. I was in a discussion lately about how we wanted to know God's plans clearly. I think for me, that translates into I want to know God's plans in advance. But, you know, if I'd have known His plans "in advance" for me personally, I wouldn't have believed it! If God would have sent me an e-mail three years ago that said "so, DeEtte - I want you to complete 2 international adoptions in less than 2.5 years start to finish and yes, I do realize you are a public school teacher...and oh yeah - right after the first one, new rules are going to come out that will make you think you're prevented from adopting again..but don't worry. you'll have to start the process pretty immediately (6 months after being home) and all involved (including our goverment) will have to work on a tight timeline but it'll get done and you'll submit your paperwork just 10 days before you would no longer be eligible...and once again I'll draw your attention to the child meant for you, but be ready - it'll be earlier than you're planning ..and once again, you won't have the money, but don't worry - it'll come..although at the last minute so you'll have to trust me the WHOLE time, but you will fly to China and I will unite you with your second daughter and your first daughter who SO wasn't ready to be a big sister when you started will mature and will become ready JUST IN TIME" - y'all - I would have so thought I was crazy! Good thing God didn't say all that then. But, that scenario is exactly what He has done and IS doing at this very moment! WOW!!

Anyway, enough of the ramblings. I guess I've been so busy and pre-occupied with so many details of life lately and this weekend I got a bit of a "breather" and a chance to reflect and really see the big picture of what God has done and is doing. And, I'm so amazed. What an incredible God we serve!

Procrastination Post and Pictures

Just a few fun pictures because I have a big paper / project to write this weekend for school. And I work best under pressure. So, I'm procrastinating by doing this blog post so I'll have less time and can then do my best work! ha!! Actually, I can do this while talking to Hannah at the same time - the paper will take much concentration so must wait until after the princess goes to bed. I can justify anything!

A couple weeks ago, my school did a shower / "celebrate" Sadie night at a local restaurant. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't take my camera. So, here's a picture of the leftover cake! ha! I LOVE my job (even though this time a year it's a bit crazy and more so since I'm trying to leave in two more weeks!) and I'm so lucky to work in a place where the faculty really care about one another and are SO supportive. (And just for the record, my previous school where I was when I adopted Hannah was the same way! I'm 2 for 2!). But, I don't think I'll test any other schools...I think I'm content with both my job AND the number of children I have!

Hannah LOVES her new castle quilt. I was so excited to find these. We got two. It's really too big for Sadie's bed since she has a toddler bed for now, but they were too cool not to get both girls one. We can fold Sadie's up when not in use or whatever. Hannah has been so amazing about sharing her room with Sadie (well, she's been amazing about the *idea* of it, it hasnt' been tested yet) and I wanted to somehow make it special. So, we turned her room into a "princess room". Okay, we got these quilts and changed the knobs out on her dresser. Voila..cheap room makeover that made my 4 year old THRILLED! I loved this quilt for a couple reasons. Hannah likes the Disney princess stuff but I'm kind of tired of them to be honest. I have nothing against them - she has some disney princess shirts and some other things. But this one made us both happy. I hope Sadie likes hers too.

Hannah was playing the other day when I saw this. I asked her who those people were and where they were going. "That's Hannah, mommy, and Sadie. We're going to Wal-mart!" Of course, her play is so realistic..I look just like Barbie and plan to regularly drive the kids around in the convertible parked in my garage wearing a leotard and tutu! Oh wait, I don't have the garage! well, almost realistic! :-)

Hannah - three weeks post-surgery. See, she no longer looks like she's been in a fight. There's still a bit of swelling and the scar is a bit raised, but that should get better over the next few months. I think she's simply beautiful..but then again, I've always thought that.

BUSTED! Well..if my mommy would just put the stuff she doesn't want me to reach a little lower, I wouldn't HAVE to climb on the sink to get it.

And just for fun, here's a post-Easter story. Apparently in Sunday School the week after Easter, Hannah's class watched a video and in it, they showed Jesus ascending into heaven. Hannah came out and said "Mommy! Jesus can do magic!".."well, yeah..we say he did miracles..".."no mommy, he can do magic. Jesus can fly...JUST LIKE TINKERBELL!"

Well, enough procrastination. Or at least blog procrastination. I'm going to play with Hannah a bit and then put her to bed..and then work on my paper. Or clean my house.. we'll see..

Aww...

Just had to share. I got an e-mail from someone on the Taizhou SWI yahoo group. Her daughter was adopted from the same orphanage as Sadie back in 2001 and they recently went for a visit. She described some of the kids she saw and this is what she had to say about Sadie (she didn't know names of the kids and at the time she was there didn't know that I was about to adopt one of them..so she's not being unkind by the way she describes her..just trying to differentiate between the kids when she didn't personally know any of them)

"The girl with no thumb seems very alert and intelligent. Very pretty. Our guide said her good friend was recently adopted out, so she was grieving. After we were there awhile, she warmed up and smiled. She danced and laughed with my husband when he was doing a goofy dance with her"

Aw, that made my day. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to take pictures. But, still..it sounds like she's doing good. Her friend that is referred to lives two hours north of us..I'm hoping we can get them together again at some point.

In other news, I do have plane tickets reserved! I leave April 29th. I'll post details later.
DeEtte

Just a quick update

I have my consulate appointment - it's May 12. So, right now it looks like I will receive Sadie on either May 4 or 5. I will be able to come home after the 13th of May. I'm working on exact travel plans now and will update you as soon as I have them. SO CLOSE!!

In other news, we went back to the cleft clinic last week for Hannah's post-surgery appointment. Everything went well and her surgeon was pleased with the surgery. Her lip is looking really good!
He is done with her in his words "for a long time". Although, she will still need the bone graft surgery for her gumline in a few years (no earlier than 6 years old though). The oral surgeon on the cleft team will actually do that and we will have x-rays done in about a year to see how long we can wait on that surgery..they try to time it before permanent teeth start coming in.

I'll try to get a picture of Hannah up here before the week's out..since the last one I posted of her had her looking pretty banged up. But, she's asleep now, so it won't be tonight.
And speaking of Hannah, tomorrow is KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION! oh my! I can't believe I'm registering her for kindergarten already! wow!

TA!!!!!!!!!

For those of you familiar with the adoption terminology, enough said!!

For those of you who may not be , that means I received my travel approval (TA) today! That's it as far as China is concerned. They have said "Come get your child!". All that's left is to find out my consulate appointment date (with the U.S. consulate in China). That has to do with getting Sadie's immigration paperwork and visa done so she can come to the United States with me. The moment she steps off the plane in the U.S., she will be an American citizen. I should know my consulate appointment date in the next day or two. Then, I will begin making plane reservations! whoo hoo! Right now, it looks like we may be leaving towards the end of April.
Check back in the next few days for updates! I might even know something tomorrow! :-)

Hoping

I'm hoping that that this:

will bring a smile to the face of this little one:

I mailed Sadie's care package this week. Hannah and I had so much fun picking things out to send. Of course, Hannah's big contribution was the musical "magic wand" toy. I'm sure the orphanage will love that! ha! I'm praying that Sadie gets the package soon and will feel an inkling of the love we have for her and how much we want her in our family!

Pictures

I know my last few posts haven't had pictures. Oh well - I guess I had a lot to say. Here's some pictures though of the last week. Happy Easter!

Enjoying the beautiful weather in the backyard

Spiderman Punching Bag: Hannah's proud purchase with the $5 papa gave her last weekend

Zoo: Hannah is trying to make a "mean tiger face". We also rode the camels (new at the zoo this year!) but unfortunately didn't get a picture.

Making cupcakes for Nana's birthday

Happy Birthday Nana!

Day of surgery: in pre-op

Day of surgery: post-op

Day after surgery: playing at home

Home

We're home. Hannah did GREAT. She is napping now (where I'm heading too in a minute) but has been playing, coloring, etc. She slept all night (never even woke up when the nurses came in to check vital signs), has not been in much pain at all, and has handled it all well. Of course, she did take one look at the anesthesiologist who came in pre-surgery with her gown and mask and calmly announced "I don't like you". She told Dr. Grant the same thing (who she loves when he's not in his surgical gear!)

I have some pictures from the past week I'll post soon. But right now, my own bed is calling to me! Oh, but I do have to tell Laine - YES, Dr. Grant was absolutely right - this one is SO much easier than the palate surgery! Hannah has been eating whatever she wants (grilled cheese last night, sausage and eggs this morning, etc.), and has not had any prescription pain medicine. She took ibuprofen right after the surgery and tylenol before bed last night. She had nothing else through the night and has not had anything today and she's doing great! And, the biggest difference - she slept all night long! :-) Oh, and Mandy was our nurse in the OR. I didn't actually meet her, but when she called from the OR to give reports and said "this is Mandy" I figured it was the same one who helped Quan.

Speaking of Mandy, she said that when Hannah was going to sleep in the OR, she was telling her that she had a sister in China named Sadie.

Kairos: God's Special Time AND upcoming surgery

Wow! What can I say? The word "Kairos" is greek and means God's special time. And once again, our Kairos weekend at the prison was exactly that. It was an amazing weekend that can't quite be put into words. Thank you for your prayers, and cookies, and donations, and letters. The response I received was incredible. I even had people I didn't know even read the blog coming up to me with checks and cookies! Please know that your gifts and prayers truly made a difference. I know they made a difference for the 36 women God sent us for the retreat. My prayer and hope is that long term it makes a difference for the other hundreds of women there who didn't have the opportunity to participate. It's kind of cool that on Thursday afternoon we ask the women why they wanted to come to Kairos. We got some of the standard answers "I heard about the food", "People said I had to experience it" and the one they thought we wanted to hear "I want to be closer to God". But my favorite answer was the people who said things like "My friend came to Kairos last time and I wanted the change of heart she got". That's one of our goals, that the women we meet with with become positive leaders in the prison. Another goal of our ministry is that the women will form Christian community inside the prison. It was neat to watch the dynamics unfol where on Thursday and Friday, they looked to us, the team from outside the prison, for everything. And then by Saturday, they started looking towards one another, comforting one another when someone cried, encouraging one another, etc. I'd appreciate your prayers for the women still. They returned yesterday to their regular environment of life in classes, work, on the yard, in the dining hall, etc. And while I don't know exactly what they face and can't completely understand, I've been in there long enough to know it's a harsh environment they return to. Trust is someting not given easily by any of us, but it's almost unheard of in that type of enviornment. We spent all weekend encouraging them to trust God, but also to be vulnerable enough to trust one another and form community. They left with the resolve to try..but I know it's being put to the test BIG TIME this week. But I also know it's not an impossible task...with God's grace, Christian community inside the prison can happen. I've seen it happen.

As far as Hannah, she did great with my parents this weekend. She had a great time playing, shopping, building a bird house, flying a kite, and more. She slept well and only cried when she woke up from her nap in the car as my mom was bringing her home. She was happy to go to grandma's house and happy to come home. What more can I ask?

So, now we switch gears and prepare for surgery Wed. We appreciate your prayers. Hannah has a cold now, so I'm praying that does not affect the surgery. I'm going to have to call her surgeon tomorrow and update him on her. We will be in the hospital 1 night.

Quick Update - Hannah

We went for our cleft clinic appointment Thursday. This was also Hannah's pre-op appointment. It went well and was uneventful. Hannah got a good report from speech, ENT, and audiology. Her tubes are clear and look great. Her hearing tested normal for the 3rd time in a row (our 1st two visits showed some very mild loss at some frequencies - thought to be fluid). Because it was her 3rd normal test, she doesn't have to have her hearing tested at the next visit as long as her tympanogram is normal (which measures fluid). The visit with Dr. Grant was good. He will be doing a revision of her lip / nose surgery that was done in China on Wednesday, the 19th. We will stay one night in the hospital. Sometime in the first couple weeks after the surgery, he'll want to see her for a post-op visit, but then, I *think* we may get to go a whole year before we go back to the cleft clinic. Don't get me wrong - we love the people there and are thankful to have them, but well..the visits are quite long. :-) I'm very thankful particularly that her speech is coming along so well (of course, I'm sure it's because she practices talking..umm. ALL THE TIME!! ha!). But, I'm also thankful her tubes are in and look good. It's been 18 months since they were placed and I'm a little suprised they haven't had to be replaced yet (but glad!)

Meanwhile, Hannah's getting ready for a 3 night stay with Grandma and Grandpa at the end of this week while I go to prison (see 2 previous posts before you get to concerned about this comment!) If you committed to being on our prayer chain for the prison ministry weekend, please pray for us March 13 - 15 (and if you didn't - well, you can still pray.) And please pray for Hannah while she's at my parents. oh, well, actually, you may want to pray for my parents too - they may not realize how much *energy* is coming their way.

LOA!

Yep - it's here. I have my LOA! (Letter of Acceptance). This is not the final step..but it's getting close. I'm heading to lifeline to sign my LOA tomorrow after school. It will be sent back to China and I'll wait 2-4 weeks for a Travel Approval (TA). At that point, my agency will make me a consulate appointment and then I can begin making travel plans! Yep - I could be going mid-end April possibly! Wow!

Karla called yesterday while I was in target..and I think I was in shock. I just *knew* she was calling to tell me I had my Pre-approval. Or, actually I was hoping that's why she was calling. No - I'm not getting a PA. China skipped right over that step for me and sent my LOA instead. Almost exactly two months from the time my LOI (letter of intent to adopt Sadie) went to China. That's FAST!

So, what did I do in response to the news? I shopped of course! ha! I forgot all about what I had originally come to target to get and instead walked around looking for fun things to put in Sadie's care package I get to send soon. Fun!

So, it's going to be an incredibly crazy few weeks! I'm working like crazy this week to finish a part of my National Boards project by Friday's deadline..then next week I'm heading to prison (see post below), then the following week is spring break and Hannah's having her next surgery (more on that later) and I'm also hoping to finish the rest of my school project about my national boards that week and get it in the mail. AND THEN, things will settle down a little. well, not really, but I'll be busy getting ready to go to China and getting ready for Sadie, which is way more fun than some of the stuff I've got to get finished now. :-)

Getting this news is truly a big praise!! It means several things. Most important - I can go before too long to pick up Sadie!! But also, we can travel at the end of the school year and I won't have to go back this year and I'll have the whole summer off with Sadie. (worked out that way with Hannah too - God's good with the details!). I may also get to go early enough that when we come back, I can send Hannah back to school for a couple weeks and get to have a little one on one time with Sadie. And, I get to travel before airline prices skyrocket for the olympics. AND, I get to travel and get home before my current fingerprints expire on June 6. Which isn't a huge deal - but it's one less thing to have to manage.

Prayer requests...

Pray for my travel approval to come timely

Pray for God to prepare all three of our hearts to be a family

Pray for transitions

Pray for my craziness in the next few weeks!

Pray for finances..we're getting closer but not there yet. I basically think I have enough to cover the rest of my agency fees and china fees, although I won't know exact amounts for a little while yet. I do not have the finances for travel at this point. But, I'm not really worried. God came through BIG time last time and remember - He's said He's going to do it again!

Pray for Hannah's upcoming surgery..I'll post more on that probably next week

Pray for my time in prison (see previous post!)

It's time for me to buckle my seatbelt and get ready for the amazing adventure God has planned! Can't wait! I can't wait to hold Sadie and get to know her. I have a little competition though. I've already had to have the conversation with Hannah that even though she gets to be the big sister, *I* still get to be the mommy to both of them. Hannah informed me last week that "I'm the big sister. Sadie's the little sister. We get Sadie and I be grown-up. I be in charge. I cook supper for Sadie". HA! We've got a little to work on in the next few weeks!

Please Pray for Me: I'm Going to Prison

How's that for an attention-grabber?? I actually AM going to prison soon..and I really do want your prayers. But it's not a bad thing. In fact, it's an absolutely amazing thing. About 6 years ago, I got involved with an amazing ministry called Kairos. It's about sharing God's love with those in prison. For about 4 years, I was was a part of this ministry at our state's women's prison. Our team of women put on two big retreats a year, as well as two smaller (as in shorter) retreats a year, and held monthly reunions for the residents (the word we call those who are incarcerated) who have participated in our Kairos weekends. I'm telling y'all - God works incredible ways on these things. Every. Single. Time. I didn't do all those events - but did head to the prison several times a year. Then, when Hannah came home, I stopped. I supported them in other ways (the ways I'm going to give you an opportunity to help!), but I didn't personally go for about two years. Well, I now have the opportunity to go back. So, the third weekend in March, I will be heading in to prison to help put on this Kairos retreat weekend. And I am so excited!! I have witnessed many miracles in the tiny chapel of this prison. I have seen hearts of stone melt and women cry for the first time in years. I have seen women who were black, white, young, old, inmates, "free world" people (what they call us), rich, poor, Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, been to church their whole life, never walked in the door of a church before, and EVERYTHING in between join hands together in a small chapel and praise God with ONE VOICE lifted in song. I have seen women forgive someone for hurts unimaginable. I have seen other women accept God's forgiveness for the first time. I have seen enemies in the prison sit at a table together and hug and ask for each other's forgiveness. I have heard women get up and say "I never knew other people loved me. I never knew God loved me. I know now". I could go on and on and on! But, I won't. Well, actually, I will for a minute. It's not just prisoners lives who are changed. Team members lives have been changed as well. My life has been changed by this ministry, mostly in ways I can't quite describe. But, if you've ever experienced God's power and love in such an intense way, you'll know what I mean when I say you can't leave that experience the same as you came.

With all that said, we need your help. God calls us to visit the prisoners (Mathew 25). I don't think it's a call for only a few Christians. I think it's a call for all of us. That does not mean I think everyone has to physically enter prison. Just like I don't think everyone has to personally adopt a child to fulfill God's call to care for the orphan. But many of you (I'm speaking to other adoptive parents) can remember that when you adopted your child, you had support from those around you. I did. It's the same way. We need your support. I'm going to list the ways you can help, and invite you to prayerfully consider how God might use you to change the lives of the 36 women I will have the opportunity to meet that third weekend in March.



*****1 - PRAY for us! This is not meant to be the "easy way out" as in, "I don't want to do anything else, but I guess I can pray". This is BY FAR, the most important thing you can do for us. I'm thrilled with whatever you can / want / feel called to do to help, but my hope is this one gets the most responses by a HUGE AMOUNT! We (the team of this Kairos weekend) work very hard to ensure that the entire weekend is covered in prayer. Start praying now. Please pray for us (the team - that we would be open to however God chooses to use during this weekend and that we would put Christ first in everything we do. Our intention is to draw the residents to Jesus Christ, not to impress them or draw them ot us) and for our families (for me, I'd appreciate you praying for Hannah, who will be staying with my parents that weekend), pray for the chaplain and warden to select the women God wants to be there, pray for the logistics of putting this on (there is so much RED TAPE, and obstacles, but God works through them every time!!), Pray for the women who will participate in our retreat. Pray for these precious children of God to know that - to know they are God's children. Pray for their hearts to be changed. Pray for their families - to participate in our weekend retreat, the women are required to be there for the whole event, which means giving up weekend visitation with any family for that weekend. Pray for the officers who will be assigned to us during the weekend. Just pray. :-)



If you will pray for us before and during the weekend (3rd weekend in March - I'll put a reminder on this blog), please post in the comments. One of the really cool things we do is make a prayer chain. Think paper chain like you used to make in school. But our prayer chain is made of bright colored strips and it's huge! It goes all the way around the chapel. Each strip has the name of a person outside of the prison who is praying for the residents. When it's brought out, it's one of the first things that begins to melt some women's hearts - to know THAT MANY people are praying for them. Our chain is attached to a similar white paper chain. The white paper chain represents the other inmates who are praying. Other Christians in the prison, including those who have previously participated in our weekends agree to pray as well. It's breathtaking to see! It's a tangible, visible sign of God's love. So, if you will pray for us, I'd love to write your name on a prayer chain strip. If your husband / sister / brother / cousin / son/ daughter / co-worker /etc. will pray for us, leave their names as well. (We will only use first names).



2. Sponsor a meal for one of our participants - this is the money one. :-) I hate asking for money in general, but this is not for me. The fact is, it costs money to put a Kairos weekend on. We need many supplies, and the big expense: food. We provide all the food for the weekend. These women get home-cooked meals, many for the first time in years. I have eaten a prison meal once before (We used to have mini-retreats where we ate one meal with the residents in their cafeteria). I don't know any other way to put it except to say I am not a picky eater at all. I had no problems eating in China. I had no problems eating in Lithuania. But in prison, all I did was push the food around my plate to make it look like I ate and then went out to eat after we left the prison. But, for 2.5 days, these women get home cooked meals. We have a kitchen team that cooks meals at a nearby church and brings them to us. Real fruit. Real vegetables. Real meat. Real bread. Real milk. Real cookies, and brownies, and ice cream, and ...It's just one more way we show them that we care about them in hopes they will begin to realize that God cares about them. If you'd like to donate to help provide a meal, please e-mail me at DeEtte530@juno.com and I will send you my address to mail a check (make it out to Kairos Prison Ministry). I can provide receipts for tax purposes if you would like, just send me an address to send it to. For a donation of $5 or more, we will put your name (first name) and where you are from (generally..like "John from Birmingham") on a piece of paper that will be at a resident's seat when they sit down to eat a meal. Again, it's just way to show them that people outside that prison do care about them.



3. PRAY for us (see #1)



4. Make Cookies..this is better if you're at least somewhat local. We need homemade cookies that we will take to serve the residents through the weekend. If you'd like to make a dozen, e-mail me and let me know. I'd have to get a way to get them from you a day or two before I leave, but if you're fairly local, I can do that.



5. PRAY for us (see #1)



6. Provide written expressions of God's love. We give the women a bag of special letters during the weekend that express God's love for them. These can be poems, inspirational sayings, or general letters. They have to be paper only (no staples) and we need 40 that are identical (we really need 36, but we usually ask for 40 just in case). Everyone is treated the same, so we can not use them if they are not identical. It's really special for them to receive hand-written letters. The team used to write these letters. We would each write 36 letters and sign them and they were so special. We are no longer allowed to do that (rules change often in the prison environment). The rule now at this prison is that if you have the priveledge to volunteer, you can not write letters. If you write letters, you can not volunteer. So, because I volunteer, along wiht the rest of the team, I (and they) can not write these letters. It's asking a lot I know to write 36 identical letters on the same stationary..but if you'd like to do that, know that it will be tremendous blessing. They do not need to be long..a couple sentences expressing God's love and your prayers, etc. would be fine. They can be signed by a first name. I would need these letters no later than Wed. March 12. You can mail them to me (DeEtte530@juno.com for my address)or if you're local, I can pick them up. If you do a poem, or saying, etc. that you type, you can e-mail it to me and I can print it off and run copies for you..unless you want to do it on special paper or something.



7. PRAY FOR US! (see #1)



8. Ask Someone else to PRAY FOR US!



Know that anything you do, and especially your prayers, will make a difference in the Kingdom of God. I know many of you may have a variety of opinions on prisons and prisoners and why they are there, etc. That's not our point. We honestly don't care why they're there. We don't ask them either. I won't argue or discuss whether they should be there or not. I'll leave that to our government. Fact is, they committed a crime. Fact is, they are sinners. Fact is, so am I. Fact is, God loves me anyway. Fact is, God loves them anyway too - only so many of them don't know that. That's why we're there - to tell them.



For more information about this ministry, visit http://www.kairosprisonministry.org/ Our weekend is March 13-15. Don't forget to leave a comment if I can add you to our prayer chain! Thank you!!