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!!

BEACH!

Hannah and I went to the beach this weekend. A friend of mine was staying on Dauphin Island for work for several weeks and invited us to come up for the weekend. So, we took advantage of the offer. Thanks Tricia! We had a great time. I discovered that I LOVE the beach in February. Sure, it's a bit cool and we had to plan our beach time around the storms, but I love walking on the beach and having to squint and look really far to see another person. I love the feeling of being secluded and having the beach to myself. And as far as those storms, well, we just took a really long afternoon nap! Hannah and I had such a great time and it was a relaxing weekend that was much appreciated!! Another fun thing was that I completely suprised her with the trip. I had a meeting at church Saturday. So, after my meeting, I picked Hannah up at her babysitter's with my car having been packed the night before. When I got her, I said "We're not going home". She said "why?" and I told her because we were going to the beach. She paused and said "today?" and when I said yes, she absolutely squealed and giggled and said "Oh, I SO excited! Thank You mama!" It was precious! Her enthusiasm and love for life makes it so much fun to pull off special suprises!

Hannah and Tricia

Working on the sand castle

Drawing in the sand

Wow! Look at the Big waves!

The sun is tryiing to peek through the clouds at sunset time

The morning we're headed home - the sun finally comes out. Didn't matter though - we had a great time, clouds and all!

Year of the Rat! (Chinese New Year part 2)

Well, this is the Year of the Rat..and Hannah started it out right. Her hair looked like a rat crawled through it. Hannah decided to be helpful and brush her hair by herself with my round hairbrush and got the brush stuck in her hair. I heard whining and frustration, so I looked in to see the problem. Well, being the sympathetic mother I am, I told Hannah - sure, I'll help you get it out. But wait and let me get the camera first!! ha!

This is what her hair looked like when I got the brush out finally!

We celebrated the Chinese New Year again with our friends from our local FCC group. We met at a Chinese restaurant for food, crafts, and fun. We had several new families join us, including a couple who had adopted way back in the early days of China adoptions (1995 I think).

Harrison, Taryn, Hannah, Ana Claire, Hannah Grace, McKenzie

And finally, I had a blast covering Chinese New Year with my preschoolers at school this year. They played fun games, made lanterns and fans and rats, tried Chopsticks, learned a few Chinese phrases, and created a dragon for a dragon parade down the halls of the school. I'd love to post pictures of our festivities, but I don't post pictures of the children in my classroom due to privacy issues..so you'll just have to imagine our fun! I did include one photo of our dragon since you can't see any of the kids' faces.



As Hannah's been walking around saying these days "Gung Hay Fat Choy"! Happy New Year!

All is Well in Taizhou

Hi. Just wanted to say that I learned things are well in Sadie's orphanage. A group in China checked on both orphanages in Taizhou for our orphanage yahoo group. They were not able to reach the director of the larger orphanage. But, they spoke directly with Sadie's orphanage director who reported that they had not been affected at all. He said there were some traffic problems and trains didn't run for two days, but that was resolved and everything at the orphanage was fine. YEAH!!

There are still many orphanages struggling with the winter storm however. For the latest news, check out Half the Sky's webpage www.halfthesky.org
One orphanage has been without power for 10 days! Please keep these kids and their caregivers in your prayers, and if you'd like to donate to Half the Sky's relief work there, this would be the time to do it.

Chinese New Year (pt.1) / Prayer Request

We went to Birmingham's Chinese New Year festival today at Boutwell Auditorium. It was a little too crowded for my tastes at first, but we ended up having a good time. We walked around, Hannah made a little rat (2008 is the Year of the Rat), played some Chinese game with a ball and ruler that won her a peanut (yep, 1 peanut - she was happy but I thought it was kind of funny), received a red envelope with "lucky money" (2 pennies), and tried her hand at a Chinese yo-yo toy. We also saw dancers, singers, a fashion show, and some pretty amazing acrobats. Oh, and the highlight for Hannah was jumping in the moon bounce. When we first got there, we saw the Ferrill's, which was fun, so I finally got to me Kimmie and Quan. They are both precious! Quan was already sitting in his seat watching the performances so quietly, so I decided not to run over and grab him up (as a stranger to him!) just so I could hold him! ha!! But Kimmie was still on the steps and quite happy to pose for a picture with Hannah. She is a doll!! Hey Laine, send them over to my house any day!!

Kimmie and Hannah

Hannah checking out the Dragon Head

In other news, you may know that the weather in China has been pretty brutal recently. There have been major travel problems (planes, trains, busses, etc. have not been running in many cases). But, I've also heard that some of the orphanages have also had some trouble. I have not heard anything about Sadie's orphanage specifically, but it's in the Jiangsu Province and I do know that it has been hit with the winter storm. These two pictures are from her city though. Kind of interesting how they prepare the winter roads for travel.





Anyway, the director of Half the Sky (organization that does educational and nuture programs in some of China's orphanages) sent the following two e-mails about orphages they are connected with. Like I mentioned, Sadie's orphanage is not mentioned (because it does not have the Half the Sky organization working with them). Hannah's orphanage is mentioned though (Wuhan) Please read these e-mails, and pray for all of the children in these orphanages and others that we don't know anything about. Pray that the children are warm, well-fed, and have what they need and pray that their caretakers remain safe as well. If you are interested in making a donation to help provide relief to some of the orphanages affected by the winter storm, go to Half the Sky's website: http://www.halfthesky.org/ and click on "donate now". On the donation page, put a note that the donation is for the "Little Mouse Emergency Fund".


Here's the e-mails:



EMAIL 1 (2/1/08)

Dear friends,

Greetings from Beijing. Every year at this time we send you a note celebrating and welcoming the Lunar New Year. This year, the Year of the Mouse, promises prosperity (we hope!) and good fortune and there should be plenty to celebrate.

But in these days leading up to the holiday the weather has dealt China a heavy blow. You’ve probably heard about the millions of workers stranded all over the country, struggling to return home to their families for the Spring Festival Holiday. But I don’t know if you know how rough these days are for our children in welfare institutions, who, of course, have no families to go home to. You won’t read about them in the news.

Despite power outages and downed phone lines, our Beijing staff has been reaching out to all Half the Sky orphanages by whatever means possible.
We’ve reached all but five. In some places, conditions are pretty grim.
We’ve managed to get word to all of our sites that we are going to do whatever it takes to get the children the help they need. I am asking for your help.

Today Half the Sky launches the “Little Mouse Emergency Fund” to help the institutions purchase what they need to get through this disaster. If there are funds left over when the weather clears and services are restored, we will take the balance and help each site establish a store of emergency provisions so that this never happens again.

You can give to the Little Mouse Emergency Fund by clicking “Donate Now”
on our website. Please note in the “Special Instructions to Half the Sky”
that your gift is for the Little Mouse Emergency Fund.

I am trying to get on an airplane right now (even airports are crazy!) but I will write more details about the needs and conditions in individual orphanages as I fly. Will send more just as soon as I can. I'd be very grateful if you'd forward this message to others who you think might care about the children.

Please be safe and warm and well….

Love and thanks,
Jenny

E-MAIL 2

Hello again,

Welfare institutions in south and central China are having the hardest time dealing with the weather disaster. This part of the country is simply not equipped to deal with extreme cold or heavy snow and ice. The most common critical problems are power outages, lack of safe drinking and cooking water, lack of fuel, diapers and public transportation. In many places where buses have stopped running, our Half the Sky nannies have been walking hours (in one case, 4 hours) along icy roads to get to the children. As conditions worsen, our nannies and teachers are remaining at the institutions day and night. They have given up the idea of going home to their own families for the holidays. They need quilts. They need warm clothing. They need coal, water, disposable diapers and food.

Here are the reports I have thus far, while in-flight. I will send more soon. Where you don’t see a report, either all is well or I don’t yet have information. I will tell you when we’ve heard from everyone. We’ve also given all the directors an emergency number to call when/if the situation changes.

Hunan Province –

Chenzhou has had no electricity or water for six days. They are relying on coal for heat and cooking. The supermarkets and banks are closed.
Staff is using personal money for baby food, diapers, coal and water.
Costs are rising due to shortages. They have a natural well which, thankfully, is not frozen. Even the older children are helping to fetch water. They have perhaps six days of food remaining. The local government is overwhelmed by the disaster and is unable to help much.

Shaoyang has seen heavy snow every day for 20 days. There is sufficient water and, for the moment, there is power, so the children are warm.
However, 5 of 6 power poles have been downed by weather. Only one stands and the institution fears it will fall as well, leaving them without electricity. Much of the rest of the city is already dark. Children and caregivers continue to work and play together. High school students are cramming for exams and trying to ignore the cold. Everyone prays that the power pole will continue to stand.

Yueyang also has no electricity. The one functioning power generator is being used in the children’s dormitory. They are relying on coal heat but the price has tripled in recent days. They are running out of food and have applied to the local Bureau of Civil Affairs for funds to buy more.
Our HTS nannies have been walking for hours to get to work, often slipping on the ice, “even though they try to be cautious.”

Xiangtan has had snow for the past 10 days. The main water pipe is “broken again.” There is no water for cooking right now but they do have electricity, coal and blankets. They are still able to buy food but prices have gone way up. Not all of the HTS nannies can get to work every day. They are keeping the programs going as well as they can and make sure that at least five nurturing nannies are there with the babies every day, along with the institution’s caregivers.

Jiangsu Province –

Changzhou has seen some heavy snows but the director reports that the children are fine. The director says that he’s doing his best to ensure that the children do not suffer. Public transportation is crippled by the snow and HTS nannies and teachers are waiting for hours to catch a bus for home or even walking home in the snowy dark.

Nanjing reports no problems at all despite the heavy snows. I tried to fly into Nanjing yesterday but it was not possible.

Anhui Province -

Chuzhou has both water and power. Only public transportation has failed.
HTS nannies and teachers are walking to work. They are leaving home extra early to be there for the children.

Guangxi Province –

Guilin has two broken HTS heater/air conditioners in the Infant Nurture rooms and they’ve asked us to replace. The rooms are very, very cold.
They ask for more soft matting for the floors and also snow boots for our HTS nannies who’ve been slipping and falling in the ice and snow as they come to work. They are so ill-equipped to handle severe weather.

Jiangxi Province –

Fuzhou lost power for a few days but now it is back to normal. The snow stopped a couple of days ago but now is falling again. The directors and HTS staff have gathered all the children into one big room to keep them warm. They’ve bought New Years clothes for the children and will have a party no matter how bad the weather. This year, however, the foster parents will stay home to keep the children safe. The institution has enough food and water. They want us to focus on those in more serious trouble and ask us please not to worry.

Jiujiang says they’ve never faced such bitter weather. They desperately need disposable diapers. Washable diapers cannot be dried. They need warm clothes, shoes, gloves hats quilts and warm mats for the floors.
They need medicine for infant coughs and colds.

Hubei Province –

Wuhan suffers heavy snows but they still have power. Heaters are working but there is no water for bathing. The local community has offered to take children in for the Chinese New Year and the institution feels this may be the best decision to keep them safe.

Huangshi reports that the freeze is so severe that all heater/air conditioners have stopped functioning. They need quilts and warm clothes for the children. They need disposable diapers. Several HTS nannies have fallen on the ice on their way to work and they need medicine to treat cuts and bruises.

Gathering these reports together makes me think about how careful we have always been at Half the Sky to maintain our focus on nurture and education programs. Ours is not a medical or relief organization. There are many wonderful groups who do that work. Probably the primary reason we’ve been able to accomplish so much and reach so many children is because we’ve maintained our focus on our core mission -- providing nurturing care for children who’ve lost their families..

But a moment like this really cannot be ignored. The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in the US taught us that no matter how wealthy a country might be, its vulnerable citizens (old, poor, ill, and orphaned children) are the ones who suffer most when disaster strikes. Even as China seems to be entering the first world, a disaster like this is quite simply crippling.
We know that orphaned children will be among those who suffer the damage most.

I say this because I think we should break one of Half the Sky’s rules and, if there are sufficient funds raised in the Little Mouse Emergency Fund, we should offer relief (water, food, diapers, quilts, clothing) to any orphanage where children need help. Let’s see how this goes. If people are as generous as I think they might be, we will work with the provincial Bureaus of Civil Affairs in every hard-hit community, and offer assistance to all welfare institutions where there is need.

Please lend a hand, however you can. You can donate to the Little Mouse Emergency Fund by calling us in the US at +1-510-525-3377 or in Asia at
+852- 2520-5266 or by visiting us at www.halfthesky.org. Once there, you can click on “Donate Now”

Prayers from Hannah / Blog Name

Okay, the girl is a hoot! Here's a snippet from her prayer tonight:

"Thank you God for my sister Sadie, and for my puppy (that) my mommy get me one day"

sounds innocent..but I've never told her she's getting a puppy! In fact, when this topic came up (last month!), I told her she was getting a sister but no promises on the puppy.

So, is it the faith of a child to thank God for what she doesn't yet have...or manipulation to do it in front of mommy's ears? hmmm...

In case you're wondering, it made me laugh but did not "move me". ha! I love dogs. I really do. I hope one day Hannah and Sadie will have one. But there is absolutely no way at all we are getting a sister and a puppy in the same year. And we're sticking with the sister.

In other news, I have not forgotten that I want to rename my blog. Thanks for all the suggestions last month. I'm still a bit undecided. I have a new favorite that came up at work. What do y'all think? "Fried Rice and French Fries"..you know, kind of the whole Chinese - American them? Any more suggestions?

SNOW!!

Well it wasn't as much as I hoped, but was fun just the same. Hannah was delighted! I was delighted watching her! It started out not so great when I woke up and saw no snow..just wet roads from the rain. Hannah came in my room and said "it snowed? we can go make footprints and sled down the hill..whee..and make a snowman?" I had to break it to her that no, probably not. But, the weather came through a while later. It snowed pretty hard for about 2 hours. Not enough for snow angels or sledding (not that we even own a sled or have a hill..but she had it in her mind that she was going to go sledding!) or really even footprints. But, we did get to walk around in it and then met up with some neighbors for a snowball fight. And we did manage to make two little snowmen! I hope you all had a fun Saturday!

First moments in the snow..it actually is snowing fairly steadily even though you can't tell in this picture!!

Hey..some snow fell in my eye!!

Cleaning the snow off the car just for fun

Meet snowman #1!

Snowball fight with one of our neighbors

Plotting and teaming up against the grown-ups

Snowman #2 - and yes, by this point finding enough snow is getting to be a struggle! But we did!

Waiting on the Snow

IT'S GOING TO SNOW!! I know, it doesn't *look* like it or even *feel* like it. Hannah doesn't really even need the coat and mittens she's wearing outside in this pic. BUT...IT'S GOING TO SNOW!! I love to see the snow, but I've lived here way too long to believe the forecasters whenever they say snow. Call me crazy, but this time I believe it. I don't know why and I don't know how much to believe..but I do think we'll see snow on the ground Saturday. Maybe even enough to muster up a small snowman?? Oh, I hope so!! We even went and got some on clearance mittens for Hannah today so her hands wouldn't get wet playing in the snow tomorrow. Yes, I have high hopes! For me, for her, and for my sweet little children in my class at school. I don't know if Hannah ever saw snow in China or not, but if she did she was too young to remember it. And I *know* the little 3 and 4 year olds in my class have not seen it really..unless on vacation somewhere else. Wasn't it like 2000 the last time snow actually accumulated in this area? So, for all the "under 8" crowd out there - I'm hoping and wishing with you! Just for the record, we didn't go totally crazy and go buy bread and milk (although we happen to have plenty of both already). We did however get me some diet dr. pepper and some donuts for both of us. priorities, ya know? ha!

New Pictures!

SADIE - 2 years old!

The amount of connections that happen in this China adoption community never cease to amaze me! You would think I would no longer be suprised as many times as I hear it happens and it's even happened to me. By way of the internet, with Hannah's adoption, I was able to connect with a family in California who was adopting a son from her same orphanage just 2 months ahead of me. They were able to meet Hannah and get updated pictures. When I traveled to get Hannah, I was able to take updated photos of a little girl from there who was then living in North Carolina. Then, I was able to send updated photos of Hannah about a year post-adoption with a local area family who was adopting from her orphanage. We know several families that have adopted from that same orphanage that live around our state. We've even met one of the families in "real life". But, that orphanage was BIG. Really big. And my agency has had several kids from that orphanage on more than one of their special needs list. And their yahoo group (yeah - there's yahoo groups for families who have adopted from specific orphanages) is fairly large and fairly active.

I joined Sadie's orphanage yahoo group to see what I could find out. It's a fairly small group and turns out it's actually for 2 orphanages in the same city with *almost* identical names (one is an "institute" and one is a "center"). The "center" is fairly big and most of the people on the group adopted from there. The "institute" is small and there is not a lot of information. That's where Sadie is. Well, I posted an introduction..and it's yielded big stuff! I heard from a family in NC who adopted from there (though she didn't visit the orphanage). And then I heard from a family from The Netherlands. They adopted their little girl in Dec. 2005 and she thinks she met Sadie. She would have only been 2 months old at the time, so we can't be SURE..but she really thinks it was her. There were only 6 kids at the orphanage at that time. She said she was tiny but very alert. THEN, today I came home to find an e-mail from someone fairly local (in the state) who adopted less than 3 months ago from Sadie's orphanage. She said there were about 10 children there at the time. She met Sadie and she has pictures! Turns out her daughter and Sadie were best friends and she sent me about 8 pictures of the two of them together. She said Sadie was sad and the director said she was sad that her best friend was leaving. poor baby! But how amazing that these little ones will have that connection. These toddler best friends from an orphanage in China will live only a couple hours away from each other!

Look, Sadie's best friend is trying to feed her a cracker! Sweet!!

Christmas!

What a fun Christmas Season! While I completely enjoyed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I think I loved the whole month of December as much as anything. I really tried to celebrate advent and not rush through it. It was probably the least busy December I've had in some ways, and yet full of so much fun! I did most of my shopping early and online, and avoided stores as much as possible (though I couldn't avoid it completely). We used an advent wreath this year and lit it each night before dinner and read part of the Christmas story each night. It was really neat how much Hannah enjoyed this time. And she'd get so excited each Sunday because we'd light another candle. And it's neat to me because she can basically recite the whole Christmas story fairly accurately. (Although sometimes she takes poetic license a bit...one day she acted it out with the nativity set and added a "HIIIYAA!" kick from the angel to the shepherd!). She can also point to all the candles and tell you what they represent. And she definately knows Christmas is Jesus' birthday. She was heard very often throughout the season singing "Happy Birday to Jesus". She also learned all the words to Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells. Besides that, she sings the whole tune of Joy to the World, but doesn't quite get the words. (pretty funny actually!). And she sings the first line of "One Small Child in a land of a Thousand" over and over. :-)

We also tried something new for me that I read about on another blog. I created 25 envelopes (one for each day Dec. 1 - Dec. 25) and numbered them. Inside each envelope was one of the gift tags that fold like a card. I wrote a fun activity on each card. Each morning, Hannah opened a new envelope and I read her our activity for the day. She then hung the card on the tree. I included things I knew we had planned anyway such as Polar Express night at church, Christmas Eve service, sing in children's program, local Christmas parade etc. And then I filled in the rest with other things. It was SO fun and really simple. I made sure to make our "through the week" activities easy - some as simple as "color a Christmas picture" or "play with red and green playdoh". Weekends were reserved for more time-consuming things "go buy grandma and granpa's present and wrap them", "Go see Nutcracker", or "Make cookies", etc. Some of our activites had nothinig to do with Christmas, just fun things such as "paint fingernails" or "go out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant". Hannah loved the activites, but as much as anything she loved opening the envelope each day and hanging the card on the tree. What I enjoyed was that all of the activites were things that I did with Hannah. Even if it was just coloring a Christmas picture, I sat at the table and colored with her, even if only for 15 minutes before dinner. I think it's definately a tradition we liked and will try to continue! This first picture is what happens when the activity of the day is "Go out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant" and I tell my 4 year old "please go get dressed and put on something that matches". HA!

Two days before Christmas, we went to Beth and Wayne's house (Nana and Grandaddy). We had a good time with them. They gave Hannah this cool "ready bed" / inflatable mattress. Hannah loved it!

Hanging out with Nana and Granddaddy

For Christmas Eve, we went to a special service at a nearby nursing home with a group from my church. Hannah sang with the other kids. I know this is a bad picture, but it was so cute to see her up there singing. She's a performer anyway. She was the youngest singer, but she had been there all the Wed. nights they rehearsed and really wanted to go sing. So we tried it and it went great! Hannah's in the front on the end and you almost can't see her. Oh well.

We then went home and enjoyed a fairly quiet and normal evening. At bedtime, Hannah left a piece of candy, an orange, and a diet dr. pepper out for Santa. (I convinced her that Santa got milk at a lot of houses and really would enjoy something different..liked diet dr. pepper!). Christmas morning Hannah had a blast. She giggled and giggled that Santa ate her stuff and drank the diet. dr. pepper. She told everyone who would listen about that! Her favorite Santa gift was her tinkerbell suitcase, but she completely enjoyed the calendar too. She played "school" and made me count and do the days of the week with her. She also enjoyed her doctor's kit and her poor baby doll got SO many shots and ear drops put in that day!

(Great way to get your living room clean on Christmas day - just give your kid a suitcase and she'll pack all her other presents in it!)


New fairy pajamas. Wow that Santa is cool - he gave me fairy pajamas, a fairy blanket, and princess t-shirts to go in my tinkerbell suitcase. How does he know I like princesses and fairies??

Grandma, Grandpa, and papa (my grandfather) came over so there were more fun gifts to open and lunch. Hannah loved this train from my papa. Grandpa is the one in the floor playing with her. Hannah didn't let him do much else during the visit. Everytime he'd pause or start to get up, you'd hear "Grandpa, play with me!".

Christmas continued more 2 days later (but no pictures!) when we went back to Nana and Granddaddy's house. Their daughter Melisa was there with her two children and all the kids exchanged gifts. We ate dinner, and then...Hannah spent the night there. She had been invited to so we packed her new suitcase and took her "ready bed". It didn't hurt that Elizabeth was spending the night too and had a matching "ready bed" AND that Elizabeth brought Hannah pajamas that matched hers. I wasn't 100% sure she'd stay, but she did. And she was very excited about it. In fact, after supper she told me "you go to my home now. I stay here!"

The next morning I called to check on her (and Beth had said she'd call me if she got upset and she didn't) and Beth said she did fine. She didn't sleep much, but that was because she and Elizabeth stayed up playing too late. She woke up several times, but it was just a quick wake up and go back to sleep and she never got upset or scared. So, I ran a few errands and went to pick her up. She was tired and grumpy from lack of sleep, but she fell asleep in the car on the way home, had a great nap at home, and woke up in a great mood. I'm so proud of her!! She has come so far. In China and for several weeks after returning home, she fell asleep holding my finger. Then, she slept in my room for a year. Once she started sleeping through the night regularly (took a whole year with nighttime terrors for a good bit of it!), I moved her to her room and she did great. And now, she's secure enough to spend the night somewhere else. It was cute because on the way there she said "I sleep at Nana's house, you go home. You come get me in the morning". I do think there was some anxiety since she kept waking up, but it wasn't dramatic or traumatic at all. It's a relief too because in March she will be staying with my parents for 2, maybe 3 nights. That was part of the reason we tried this - so she could have a 1 night practice when it would be easy for me to come get her if needed.

NOW..we're on to the new year..and a new daughter..and a new sister!
Stay tuned!

It was going to happen sooner or later!

You know, there are just some rites of passages that kids go through. They learn to walk, they learn to talk, they learn to ride a bike, they cut their hair. Yep..that's right. Hannah cut her hair today. I really did know it was going to happen eventually. Mother's instict? maybe. Or maybe it is just that as a preschool teacher, I've seen it happen to so many others. It's usually before some big event..picture day usually. Hannah's was 2 days before Christmas. It's really not bad at all. I had her hair up today and she cut just the very front "wisps" while she was supposed to be taking a nap this afternoon. I found the hair in the floor and asked her what happened. Of course, I knew exactly what happened. The funny thing is that she was more upset than I was. As soon as I said "what happened?"..and held up the hair, she teared up and started to walk out of the room. I told her to come back and she said "I go sit in time-out". I told her no, I wanted to talk to her. I managed to tell her she couldn't cut her hair and she couldn't have scissors in her room either (which she wasn't supposed to have in there in the first place). So I removed the scissors. And then I let it drop. No lecture, no time out. Because I'm a sweet, kind, sensitive mother? No, actually because I couldn't fuss at her. I was trying too hard not to laugh. One more milestone completed in her life. :-)

I took this bottom picture to convince myself it's really not noticeable when you're not using the zoom lens on the camera. And she's actually not asleep..just pretending to be. Oh, and she does own a bed. But she got this new sleeping bag/air mattress from nana and granddaddy tonight for Christmas. So she really wanted to try it out. :-)

On a different note, THANK YOU for your sweet comments on the blog and your supportive e-mails these last few days. Your encouragement, support, and prayers make a difference! Here's one more picture of sweet Sadie.

Merry Christmas!!

BIG NEWS!!

Well friends,

FIRST - thanks for the blog name suggestions. Keep them coming!! But, I have big things to share now! LOTS of DETAILS included..if you just want the main announcement, scroll to the end!! Many of you were a part of my journey a couple years ago to adopt Hannah from China. Hannah has now been home 19 months. Many of you know her now. Others of you have kept up with her through this blog.

Hannah has adjusted amazingly well and is doing great. She is a joy to me each day. She's beautiful, smart, sensitive, sweet, and funny all rolled into one. She also is spirited, stubborn, bossy and sometimes a bit sassy. And while we sometimes "disagree" on where the appropriate boundaries are for those traits to manifest themselves, I actually love that spirited side of her. She loves school, loves church, loves dance, loves her friends, loves her family, loves people in general, and loves God.

What does she NOT love? Not much actually. Umm..she doesn't like garlic?? ANd she she doesn't like (in her words) "somebody bossin' me!" Oh, and most of the time, she's not really fond of being quiet or of walking (skipping or running while singing or talking is MUCH more her style!) But really, she has such an enthusiasm for life that's completely contagious. When God put her in my life, He truly did MORE than I could ask or image! Some of you may remember that was kind of my whole theme for Hannah's adoption. Through the entire process, I saw him open his hand and provide much more than I could ask or imagine to bring Hannah home. I have been humbled by His love and grace poured out on us and so incredibly thankful. And I have been content. After all God has done, do I dare ask for more?

WELL....ACTUALLY...YES! Many of you know that last December I started the adoption process for a 2nd time. I logged in my paperwork on April 20, 2007 under China's "non-special needs" program. All along, I've felt like I would probably switch over to the special needs program at some point, simply because that's where my heart has been from the very beginning. But I was also open to waiting for a non-special needs referral if that was the direction God was leading (wait is currently at about 2 years and growing..so plenty of time to prepare!). But in the Special needs program, once you've been matched with a specific child, you need to be ready to travel in just a few short months (3-4 months currently). Lately I've thought (read "planned") that I'd wait until about this time next year and then I'd call Karla, my social worker, and tell her I wanted to switch to special needs. I'd be matched with a child sometime after that, and probably travel late spring or summer of 2009. Hannah would be finishing kindergarten, be a bit older, and I'd have had one year of "free school" (not preschool where I pay tuition) to save some extra money towards the adoption before I added a second child (and had to pay daycare or preschool costs). That would also work well because I transferred schools this fall and I wouldn't have to take time off of work my first year at a new job. I also started a program called "Take One" that is fairly time-consuming and I work on one section of my national boards this year. My "plan" was that I'd complete that this year, and then finish my national boards NEXT school year..ending just in time to travel to China for child #2. I'd come back with child number two to receive my scores in the mail and HOPEFULLY be nationally certified. (And as a bonus, this would give me a significant yearly bonus that I figured would come in handy in raising two children as oppossed to one). Let's see, what else did I plan? Oh yeah - I scheduled Hannah's cleft lip / nose revision surgery for the beginning of June so that it would be done before kindergarten and before I adopted a second child..WELL..when God is involved, our plans take a backseat to his far better plans.

My agency, Lifeline, has a list of children from China with special needs that comes out about every 3-4 months. I always "look" at the list, but I have not been "LOOKING" at the list, if you know what I mean. I look at the precious children and hope and pray for them to find their families. I root for them and cheer them on. When I see that wonderful word "matched" next to their picture, I am happy for them that they have found their families. In a few cases, when that "matched" never appears, I feel sad for them. On one list, there was a little girl who stole my heart..and she sat there week after week with no family. I prayed for that little girl for months and then one day celebrated when she was matched with a family. But I had no desire, no impulse, no "nudge", whatever you want to call it to act on ANY of those children. Remember, MY PLAN was that this time NEXT year, I'd call my social worker and she would match me with one of these precious children.

BUT...God's ways are higher than my ways!! Perhaps that's my new "theme". Perhaps that's the message God is trying to get through to me. Last Thursday evening, I received an e-mail from Lifeline (group e-mail) reminding people there were still a few waiting children left and also announcing that one child was BACK on the list who earlier had a family. This child had been on the previous list and had been matched. But, the family that was matched with her were unable to complete the adoption due to their personal circumstances that had changed. I clicked on the picture to "look" but most certainly NOT to "LOOK!" And I can't really describe what happened inside me at that point. I just was drawn to this child in a way that was different. I thought about her all evening and had a hard time sleeping. I checked Lifeline's website several times the next day. I just KNEW that the word "matched" was going to appear next to her name. She was too precious for it not to. I honestly thought there would be lots of people calling and asking about her. I thought by 8:30 at the latest, she would have had a family. And then something hit me..I realized that this time, if "matched" appeared next to her name, I would not really be so happy. Was God calling me to act now? Was He saying "THIS is your child"? But wait, God! That's not my plan. I have another year. You know, I have a lot to do this year, and a new job, and Hannah's still in preschool for crying out loud! I was thinking end of kindergarten, but she has to at least be out of preschool first!!! And I've been saving for the fees like crazy, but I'm nowhere close and can't be close in a few short months!! AND, And, AND!
I finally said "okay. If she doesn't get matched today (Friday), I'll call Karla Monday and ask about her". But I couldn't stand it! I finally called her office early Friday afternoon. She was in a meeting, so I sent her an e-mail and asked if this little girl was still available. ("Matched" had not appeared by her name, but I reasoned that the staff at lifeline was busy and just hadn't had time to update the website!) She e-mailed me back and said yes, she was still available. We exchanged e-mails a couple more times that day while Karla answered some of my questions, and then I spoke with her after school and officially placed her on "hold". "Hold" means I have 2 weeks to review her file, ask any questions, get any medical opinions I'd like, and make a decision. No one else can put her on hold or be matched with her during this time. I did do those things during my time "on hold", but it was really a formality and as you can tell by now, I didn't take the 2 weeks. I did them because I felt like I had to be responsible and really look into everything clearly before I committed to this child. But in reality, I made the decision in my heart the moment I e-mailed and asked if she was still available. I don't regret taking the time though to do a little more 'research' before making it official, and if I had it to do over, I would do the same thing. Adoptive parents should go into things with eyes wide open. This time, I was even more convinced of that because I knew that my decision affected not only my life and this little girl's life, but also Hannah's. But, I really used the time to pray for "my issues" more than this child's needs. Any hesitation on my part was based on my own insecurities rather than what needs this little one had. After all, this didn't fit in MY PLAN! But, God has reminded me of ALL HE did to bring Hannah home. And you know what the cool thing is? He's told me "I can do it again!". I really don't feel "worthy" of receiving a 2nd miracle! I mean, isn't one miracle enough! And yet, God's plans are not my plans. His ways are not my ways. His ways are higher than my ways actually. My reminder of this came from my amazing 4 year old. Saturday night, as I was putting Hannah to bed, she hugged me tight and whispered "do not be afraid. With God, all things are possible". I'm not making this up! My 4 year old said those words to me. I know where she got it. We've been reading her Toddler Bible at dinner each night during advent. We light our advent candles, read a part of the Christmas story from her Bible, and then pray and blow the candles out. The first week, we read the part where the angel comes to Mary and says "do not be afraid" and tells her she is going to have a baby and Mary asks "How can this be?". In toddler Bible language "The angel said 'with God, all things are possible'. By the end of the week, I would read "and the angel said.." and Hannah would fill in the blank, the first time with "do not be afraid" and the second time "with God, all things are possible". So yeah, I know where she got it. ANd I'm thrilled that she is learning and remembering things from God's word. But I also believe God is speaking to my heart through that. "DeEtte, I can do this. Do not be afraid. WIth God, all thigns are possible." Did you catch it? Not just "anything is possible". That is GREAT. But, there's more. ALL things are possible. ALL. Not just one. He can do more than I ask or imagine MULTIPLE times. He can work through ALL the seeming obstacles. Wow! Well, this is getting long, so let me get to the part you want to hear.

I HAVE A DAUGHTER - AGAIN! I have named her Sadie and she is in an orphanage in Taizhou, China. She turned two years old in October. Her special need is her hands. Her left hand is turned inwards (called "radial club hand") and she is missing her left thumb. Her right hand has a deformed thumb, but the other fingers are normal. This is actually not a big deal special need. Surgery might be an option, or might not depending on how functional she is with her hands and the exact bone structure once I get her home. There are some unknowns with the exact nature of her bones. She is otherwise developing normally in all areas according to her chinese reports. Her report says she likes to swing her body to music and make the caretakers laugh. She can feed herself a cracker by holding the cracker between her index finger and middle finger. She likes being around people and she "makes happy sounds" (this report was written when she was about 14 months old, so it's a bit dated) Her favorite toy is a doll. I am attaching pictures and will let you know more information about her as I find out more. According to current wait, it looks like I might travel in April or May (of this year!). But, that all depends on China at this point and is out of my hands. But it's in God's hands. As I told Karla, there are a million reasons why this is not a good time. But God did such a perfect job the first time around. He can do it again! All those obstacles and reasons to wait don't stack up when I look at the beautiful face and realize I am looking into the face of my daughter.

Hannah is excited. She actually has been talking about "her sister" for a couple weeks now. Before I said anything to her. She has said Santa needs to bring her sister a suitcase and a calendar so she'll have it "just like Hannah!" (Yes, Hannah asked for a suitcase and a calendar for Christmas. She asked for that a month ago. ..hmm..did her heart know we'd be traveling this next year?!!) Of course, Hannah also informed me that "I want two sisters!" I'm going to go out on a limb and say that God was NOT speaking to me through her on that one! HA! That was pure Hannah! I told her she was getting ONE sister. And it would be a long time. Not tomorrow. So today, Hannah said "I want my sister, my fried Sadie, but not tomorrow. day after tomorrow!"
Please join me in praying for Sadie and this whole crazy, but wonderful adventure God has called us to. Pray for Hannah as well. She's excited, but it will be an adjustment for her to have to share everything! But, I trust with God, ALL things are possible. He is preparing her heart too. She seems to be a better listener than I am sometimes. One specific prayer request for now: pray for Hannah's passport to arrive in a timely manner. I intend to take her with me to China, but I had not even applied for a US passport for her. (because I had PLENTY of time!). Well, at least as of this past summer, they were taking quite a while to process. We are taking care of applying this week, so should be fine, but we would appreciate prayers that there are no delays with her passport.

Thanks for joining us on the journey..again!

Just for Fun...

Well, it's after 8:00, my princess is in bed, and there's clothes that need to be washed and an office that needs straightening. oh, and I have some things to get ready for school.
But instead, I'm writing this post just for fun. I want to change my blog name and I need some help. Stefanie over at "Sophie Makes Six" (see sidebar) changed her blog not too long ago and asked for help. Which reminds me..she's not "Sophie Makes Six" anymore. She's "Nihao Y'all"! She got great suggestions. So, I thought I'd give it a try. I want a name that's easy to remember and does not include my name. Also one that doesn't include Hannah's name...afterall, there is a sister in her future who I wouldn't want to leave out. So, this will not be a democracy..more like a benovolent dictatorship! ha! You give me suggestions, you can comment on which suggestions you like, I listen to you, but in the end, I decide. :-)
If your suggestion becomes my blog name, you win! What do you win? How about my appreciation and the ego boost that comes from seeing your suggestion at the top every time you check my blog. Okay, so some bloggers would come up with better gifts, but I don't have anything you'd want that I'm also willing to get rid of! Just being honest! Let's play!

Christmas is in the air!

I love Christmas! So does Hannah. We have been having a lot of fun in the first half of the season. These first two pictures are from Thanksgiving weekend at my parents house. I don't have any pics with our tree yet, but I'm sure I'll get some soon.

The first weekend in December, Hannah was in the local Christmas parade with Beth. She enjoyed being able to throw candy at all the onlookers. She tried REALLY hard to throw one to me: "MOMMY! THIS FOR YOU!! CATCH IT!". For the record, I didn't manage to catch any she actually threw, but I pretended I did. "I got it! THANKS!!" (You do what you have to sometimes!)



Today, we visited Santa at the mall. This IS Santa. The line takes FOREVER, but it's because when a child finally gets to him, that child is the only kid in the world as far as he's concerned. He's so patient and really takes his time talking and listening to each one. Last year, she kind of wanted to see him, but was kind of not sure too. She would not sit in his lap and I had to sit with her for a picture. This year, I had to hold her back until Santa's helper said she could go. Soon as I took my hand off her shoulder, she ran and tackled him in a big hug! It was too cute. Too bad I didn't have the camera ready for that.

And since we very rarely hit the mall, when we do we have to visit the carrosel before we leave. What fun!