Ever-Changing Emmie...an Update

I haven't written about Esther Marie specifically lately, so I thought it would be a good idea to give an update about how she is doing. She is progressing with bonding with the family and enjoys playing with Joshua, MaryAlyce and Hannah quite a bit. Blossoming like a flower is a good way to describe it, trusting and opening up more and more each day. She wants to participate and not be left out of things, which can lead to some frustration and the inevitable whining. She loves music and dancing...music can calm her when she is antsy and upset. She especially likes to dance with mommy holding her. Paper seems to be a favorite thing to play with...she likes the crunching sound of it, she likes to draw on it, and she likes to stare at words on a paper and pretend she is reading it. She really loves toy kitchen things and dolls. She pretends to feed herself and the dolls. I think the thing we notice most about her is that she is a fantastic imitator...she copies sounds, motions and facial expressions. She really makes us laugh and she knows it. She is sleeping much better now and bedtime and nap time don't seem to be as threatening. She has calmed down and doesn't cry as much. I believe that is because she is getting more secure with us and her surroundings. She is very independent and wants to do things herself. She "talks" at us and is still pointing and acting bossy. She is not eating "real" food as much as I would like, but I think the textures are throwing her off...the feel of them in her mouth. She still prefers baby foods, yogurt and mashed up banana. I am curious about how that will change after she gets her palate repaired and she has healed from the surgery. I love watching her interact with others and still am in awe at what a miracle her personality is after growing up in an orphanage for two years. She will meet her grandparents soon and I know she will charm them just as she has charmed us.

Hanging Out With Uncle Patrick

China Bends One Child Rule in Quake Area

I am always watching the headlines for news about China....I guess that is only natural considering that I have traveled there twice and three of my children are Chinese.

I was very glad to see that the Chinese government "has a heart" and is going to "allow" the families in the earthquake zone who lost a child to have another one if they choose to do that. (China Bends 1-Child Rule in Quake Area)

We don't have to get "permission" to have a child here in the U.S....imagine living in a country where you do,

May I always be thankful to God for the freedoms that He has blessed us with in this country! Please pray for the Chinese people...for their true freedom in Christ and in China as well.

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

We had a pot luck supper this past Wednesday at church...Esther Marie's first...and she was more quiet than normal. I think the sounds of all of the people were overwhelming her a little, but she was happy to eat and she did look around at all the people. She enjoyed some peas and mac & cheese and her eyes got really wide and she smiled big when mommy let her have some Key Lime Pound Cake. Mmmmmmm!

After dinner, we went up from the fellowship hall to the sanctuary and Ms. Kathy, the children's pastor, made a presentation to our family. The incredibly awesome children in Children's Church, grades 1 - 6, have been having a contest to collect money for Esther Marie's surgery. They did all sorts of things and even contributed allowances. It was a contest between boys and girls and the GIRLS WON! (sorry boys!) All total, these kids raised $325.70 for Emmie! WOW! Thank you to all the kids from the bottoms of our hearts! They have also been having prayer times for her and have shown an incredible interest in and tenderness toward her. We have truly been touched in a special way by their efforts and love.

We were allowed to share for a few minutes, and I was again able to briefly tell about the miracle that God provided in regard to the surgery expenses. About half the people there this past Wednesday night had not heard my testimony the previous week.

We ended the night with a fun time! The 5th and 6th graders have been working hard all summer to learn Bible facts. Why? Because some adult "contestants" from the church were chosen to participate in our church's version of "Are you smarter than a 5th (6th Grader)?" Our pastor was the show host and the kids did a fantastic job! The laughter was contagious and you couldn't help being amused and stumped! Well, I for one know I am NOT smarter than a 5th/6th grader at our church and I am totally willing to admit it! (haha)

Have you ever watched that game on T.V. and realized just how much stuff you don't know! Do you ever feel like you need to repeat 5th grade?? (laugh) Drop us a comment and let us know what you think.

Thursday Thoughts and Happenings

The dentist was a breeze today! Why? Because he didn't do anything but talk to me. Whew! Does that mean I am "out of the woods"? Nahhhh. Rats! We talked and he explained the removal of a tooth that has a root canal. The tooth is brittle so more than likely it will break apart during removal and he will have to drill and cut to get it all out. UGH! Upon hearing that, I decided to wait until next Thursday afternoon when he will give me anesthesia and then take the tooth out. I knew I couldn't handle sitting there while all that was going on! I am a pitiful baby when it comes to going to the dentist. When I was growing up, I had a dentist who used to drill on me without deadening the tooth...and he was related to us. Yikes! Before going to see him, I actually used to plot out an escape route and plan in my head! If you prayed for me, please keep praying..and thank you!

While at the dentist, I met a nice lady who shared with me about someone she knows who works in an orphanage in China during the summers...in Guangdong province, which is where Esther Marie is from. I wonder if she works in Emmie's orphanage or somewhere else? I gave her my blog site address and I hope the two of them will check it out and leave us a message in the guest book. It's always neat to be able to share about adopting with people I meet. Esther Marie was toddling all around the waiting area jabbering and flirting with people. She was entertaining all the nervous patients who were waiting. What a sweet diversion!

Hannah had registration at school today...7th grade. It's hard to believe! She got on the team that she wanted and was busy much of the afternoon making calls to friends to see which team each person got on. There were some "yippies" and some "ohh nooos", but in the end I think most people were okay with their teams. Hannah got her schedule but has decided not to play clarinet in the band this year....so her schedule will change. She wants to try electives and signed up for theater and home economics and things like that. They take four different classes during the year. It's a shame that she can't be in the band and do all those things too. I am going to miss her playing the clarinet. I am happy though that it's a rental and not a purchased horn!!!

School starts here on August 7th....terribly early in my opinion. I liked it better when school started after Labor Day weekend....like when I was a kid. I don't think summer is long enough any more. My brother Patrick and I had a discussion about it recently and we both think that summer gets shorter and shorter each year because the school systems are moving toward year round school. When does school start for your kids and what do you think about short summers? Leave us a comment!

Below are two new blog entries. I have more to come, so stay tuned. It seems life in this family of 6 is always bringing new smiles, tears, memories and miracles. I hope you can relate, even a little, and that we can bring a smile to your face or encourage you. I look forward to sharing more with you soon, including some more photos. Thanks for hanging in here with us. We'll be blogging about the beginning of school and Esther Marie's surgery before you know it.

Tooth Tales

Many of you read the blog posts before we left for China where I was whining about my abscessed lower molar. Okay, be fair...abscessed teeth hurt really bad so I think some whining was appropriate, don't you? Well, I am back again....but instead of whining, I have been crying.

I went to the dentist on Tuesday afternoon to have the crown put on that tooth. The root canal had been done and I survived that dental nightmare. (Just a nightmare, because in reality it was not as bad as I had dreamed it would be.) Anyway, I just wanted to get it over with. I had been trying to be so careful when eating and was sick of chewing on the right side, but I had an episode recently where some chicken ran over to the left side of my mouth and I bit down on it...naughty chicken! I knew something wasn't right and felt I had cracked the tooth. Monday I frantically called the dentist and got an appointment. After working on the tooth for quite awhile, my dentist informed me that when I crack something, I REALLY crack it. The crack went all the way down to the root and therefore, she didn't think the crown was viable. (BIG SIGH) I frankly was not expecting this and it totally threw me off and the tears began to roll. I believe I just have too much on my plate emotionally to deal with and this was like the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm glad the women in the office were so understanding and were so nice to me!

So now what? I am headed to an oral surgeon on Thursday (tomorrow) to have the tooth extracted. If it is too complicated, they will have me come back another day and will put me "under" to spare me the ordeal. I can't decide which I would rather endure. Oh yeah...NEITHER! (haha) I have been so upset since that appointment on Tuesday afternoon but I am feeling better about it right now. I want to thank Kathy, my pastor's wife, for praying with Jasper and me before we left church tonight. It really calmed me and I am not dreading the appointment as much.

I'll tell you what "bites"....having to get the tooth extracted.....after enduring the root canal....which has not even been paid for!

Thanks for praying for me that I will get through this extraction with no complications, that a bridge will be an option, and that God will once again provide the money we need for the necessities of life......like teeth!

Lightning and a Late Show

Hi Family and Friends! I haven't posted for a couple of days because our internet has been uncooperative...grrrrrrrrr! We had a bad storm here on Monday night...what I call an electrical storm....with really loud crashes of thunder and that scary sky-to-ground lightning. The kids were frightened and huddling near us, asking a lot of questions. There we were explaining to them that they were safe and there was no need for screaming each time the thunder crashed. All of a sudden, lightening struck something very close to the house with a loud KA-POW and we all screamed! So much for trying to convince the kids not to be afraid! Whatever it struck, the after-shock made branches and pine cones fall out of the trees outside the windows and that was startling as well.

Then the rain came and the wind blew the trees making them sway in that spooky kind of way where you are praying they don't land on your house. At some point, the power went out and I sent Jasper to the basement for the oil lamps, and Hannah and I started digging out the candles. We played Uno (cards) for awhile until it got too dark and we were each having to hold a flashlight to see what color card to play next. It was also beginning to get really HOT in the house with no AC! We are SO spoiled!

Finally around 9:00 pm, we decided to get out of Dodge and head for a cooler climate. We landed at the dollar movie theater and for $5.00 got to enjoy a late movie with cool air...yippie! I am so happy they had something appropriate...Horton Hears a Who....very cute movie! The kids and I laughed on and off all the way through it...and it even seemed to hold Emmie's attention most of the time. This was her FIRST movie theater experience. It was so late that she was zoning in mommy's lap and glad to be cuddled, her eyes glued to the screen. Jay was snoring in the seat next to me for half the movie. Poor Dad! He gets up early and is very tired by 10:00 PM.

When we got home around midnight, the power was back on and everyone went straight to bed. The kids were relaxed again after the storm, and I was thanking God that we could sleep late the next morning because it is summer break!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hopefully the Whole Family Won't Catch It....

Poor Hannah was throwing up in the night and so I stayed home with her and Esther Marie this morning while Jay and the other two kids went to church. Emmie was crabby all morning so I hope she is not coming down with something also. A good long nap hopefully will help...and as I write, she is snoozing away. Hannah is resting in bed and feeling better today. I'm not sure what she has but I pray the whole family doesn't catch it!

I am adding $13.00 to our surgery fund and am thankful for the donation since every little bit helps. A family who attends our church sold some extra veggies from their garden and then gave us the money for the surgery. Thanks to that special family!

There are three new posts....fairly long but full of exciting news.....about Esther Marie's upcoming surgery, about a miracle for her, and about a letter from the President. Thanks for taking the time to read them and share in our lives. Please sign our guest book or leave a comment. We really want to hear from you...and we are making a permanent record of the blog for Esther Marie and for our other children, so they'll want to be able to look back one day and know you visited. We love you all!

Esther Marie Got A Letter From President Bush Today!

Esther Marie received an exciting package in the mail today....a letter from the President and her official Certificate of Citizenship! Yippie! She officially became a citizen the day we returned home, June 20, 2008, but the Certificate of Citizenship is THE important paper to have! Below is the text of the letter she received from President Bush. I know it's a form letter, but all the same, it's very touching and very meaningful. I would copy and post the Certificate, but I don't think it's safe to do that. I hope Esther Marie will grow up to appreciate what it means to live in this great and free nation....and I pray God will continue to bless America!

The White House

Washington

Dear Fellow American:

I am pleased to congratulate you on becoming a United States citizen. You are now a part of a great and blessed Nation. I know your family and friends are proud of you on this special day.

Americans are united across the generations by grand and enduring ideals. The grandest of these ideals is an unfolding promise that everyone belongs, that everyone deserves a chance, and that no insignificant person was ever born. Our country has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by principles that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests, and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every citizen must uphold these principles. And every new citizen, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

As you begin to participate fully in our democracy, remember that what you do is as important as anything government does. I ask you to serve your new Nation, beginning with your neighbor. I ask you to be citizens building communities of service and a Nation of character. Americans are generous and strong and decent not because we believe in ourselves, but because we hold beliefs beyond ourselves. When this spirit of citizenship is missing, no government program can replace it. When this spirit is present, no wrong can stand against it.

Welcome to the joy, responsibility, and freedom of American citizenship. God bless you, and God bless America.

Sincerely,


George W. Bush

Cleft Clinic Visit and Upcoming Surgery Updates

The cleft clinic visit is behind us! Esther Marie was once again her sweet little self, smiling and laughing, while she saw each specialist...such a little trooper! Giving her food kept her happy too! It went very well, but I was emotionally overwhelmed and exhausted when the day was finally over. Actually, "fried" is probably a better term for how I felt. I was in "information overload" mode and totally feeling like I don't want my kid to have to go through all this! Most parents would say, if I could take her place, I would..so she doesn't have to go through it all. Of course, she does have to go through it all...it's necessary!

We were there at the hospital clinic for FOUR hours! Whew! We got there around 8:00 and were done by noon. I will tell you though...there was a lot of WAITING! We had three children with us....Hannah was at an all-day event for the 6th graders. (Thanks to Susan and Evie for letting her spend the night and for giving her a ride!)

While at the clinic for cleft lip/palate, we saw the nurse, the audiologist, the speech therapists, the genetics doctor, the surgeon, the surgeon's assistant (Dana), and the ENT doctor. Here's what we found out:

Esther Marie saw the nurse first and weighs 24.2 lbs. (11 kg), is 32-1/4" tall and her head circumference is 49 cm. She has either lost weight or the other IAC clinic's scale is off a bit. She weighed over 25 lbs. there. She weighs 23 at home without clothes.

The audiologist told us that Emmie's ears are still clogged with wax and she can't hear low tones. It might be hearing loss or it could be caused by the wax. We will have to wait until the wax can be cleaned out to find out. She'll be tested again after the surgery.

The speech therapists asked questions and they both told us about an early intervention program that we should try to get her in. They talked to us for awhile about speech issues and said they would see her after she recuperates from the palate surgery.

The genetics doctor had some questions for us and didn't see a need to test for any genetic issues. That was good news. (He had concerns with Joshua when we got him and we had two expensive tests run, looking for certain syndromes or birth defects. The tests were negative...thank God!)

The surgeon for the cleft repair (Dr. G) explained how he will repair Esther Marie's open palate. There will be repair of the soft palate, the harder palate and the muscles. There's a lot of cutting. Her little mouth will be held open for quite awhile during the surgery. (Joshua's face was SO swollen after his palate repair.) The surgery is more complicated than you realize. Dr. G drew a diagram to help us understand. He also examined Emmie's fingers and found that one needs surgical repair. There is a scar that is causing one of her pointing fingers to curve and without repair, the curving would get worse. He will make a series of cuts to release the skin. The surprising thing is that he didn't think the damage was caused by the ant bites, but by something else. We are not sure what since we don't have any information about this injury.

Dr. G's assistant, Dana, told us all the details of the surgery and the recuperation period. Emmie will have to wear arm restraints but only for two weeks. I had initially read it might be four or more. We both think two weeks will be hard enough since she is older and more active. It is going to be very frustrating for her (and for me, I think). She has to wear them to keep her arms straight so she won't put anything inside her mouth that will damage her repaired palate. She will need to stay on a diet of very soft foods for four weeks.

The ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor confirmed that Esther Marie does have a bunch of wax build-up close to her ear drum. He will have to remove it while she is under anesthesia. Then he will examine her to see if there is any fluid build-up in the inner ear. If there is, he will place tubes in her ears to assist with drainage of the fluid. This needs to be done to prevent hearing loss.

Through out all of this, Esther Marie was doing great! She played games with the doctors and people she saw and wanted to be held by them. She is such an outgoing little girl and I'm glad for that! Although we do have to be careful about how many people hold her because it hinders her bonding with our family and confuses her about who her parents are.

Surgery is still set for August 20th...at 1:00 PM. We have to be at the hospital by 11:00 AM. Her palate repair will take 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Her ENT will only need 15 -30 minutes and it will take around 45 minutes - 1 hour to repair her finger. This is a total of about 3 to 4 hours. The starting time for the surgery could change depending on the doctors' schedules, and we will update you if it does.

After lunch on Thursday (Esther Marie slept and got a good nap), we went to another hospital facility so blood work could be done. This was the worst part of the day. I let Jasper hold her while the blood was being drawn so it wouldn't affect her bonding with mommy. MaryAlyce, Joshua and I waited in the waiting area. She came out soaked with tears, but was running down the hall toward me clutching two stickers and she had a big smile on her face. Praise God! (Jasper said she screamed her head off while they drew about 6-8 tubes of blood.)

Thanks for all of your prayers! We made it through a rough day and have more to come but God will see us through it all and your prayer DO help!

Trust God...NOT Your Insurance Company!! (A Miracle!!!)

I was blessed this past Wednesday night to be able to give a testimony about God's great love and grace. It was fantastic to be able to honor God by sharing what He has done and is doing for our family, especially for Esther Marie. I shared with you recently that a miracle had happened and once I shared at church, I would share on the blog. Thanks for your patience.

To provide a little background, I will tell you that almost two years ago, my husband Jasper started his own architecture practice. It was a scary time and we truly had to step out in faith. God really had given Jasper the dream and desire and so he thought...hey, I'm almost 50...it's now or never. God is blessing the business and things are going well. Business is increasing slowly and steadily and we pray it will continue that way. One of the issues about being self-employed was finding affordable insurance that would cover the needs of all of the children...especially the cleft issues. Again, at just the right time, we were able to get on an open enrollment policy with a year wait on pre-existing conditions...and it was affordable.

I had been having recurring dreams about adopting in 2006...the year Esther Marie was born. I shared with Jasper and he agreed that he didn't think our family was complete yet. In June of 2006, we turned in our application to adopt again. We thought it would take at least a couple of years to get a referral, but that was "our" plan, not God's. We thought we would have awhile to get back on our feet financially after using up our savings and going into debt to start the business. Well, don't count on your own plans and God's plans always aligning with each other!! We received a call with a referral just four months later, and we were stunned to say the least. We had also decided that "we" wanted a child with a very simple special need if the child was going to have one. This child in the referral had cleft lip and palate. I actually asked the agency to email me the list where I had marked that as an option because I didn't remember doing that...I needed to see that for myself. I thought one child (Joshua) with a life-long physical need was about all we could handle! Again, that was "our" plan, not God's.

When we got the file and the photos, we feel in love with her...Esther Marie (the name God had already given to us). I knew it was her, but I had doubts and was scared because it was sooner than we expected. I am sure that is normal, especially when you are faced with needing to make a decision in just a matter of days. We got a medical evaluation from the International Adoption Clinic, and I called the insurance company about coverage. Again, I was stunned to hear that her first surgery would not be covered. I called Karla at the agency and was crying so hard, she thought something awful had happened to Jasper or one of the kids. I told her what was wrong and she assured me that she was okay with us adopting this child because we had always taken good care of the other three children we have, and she knew we would take care of this one too. I had visited many other adoption agency websites and was well aware of the fact that almost all would NOT let you adopt a special needs child unless you had insurance to cover the special need. I am so grateful to Karla that she knew our family and trusted us and God to take care of this child! We tried to find out the exact costs of all of the surgeries she would need to have right away...but no one seemed to be able to give us that information. I searched and searched the net and finally found a figure of $20,000 minimum. We tried to talk to families who had adopted a cleft lip/palate toddler and no one called us back. Why? I believe God wanted us to totally trust Him when making this decision...without speaking to alot of other people. I did share with our church home group and they prayed for us to know God's will. Several days before it was time to tell the agency our decision, we just looked at each other and said....what are we waiting for? We KNOW she is the one...the child I had been dreaming about. The children had agreed also. I showed them the baby photo and said..here is a cute baby, what do you think of her. I didn't say anything about her being a baby from the agency. Both Hannah and MaryAlyce had said...we want her! Joshua just shrugged and said...she's cute. (typical boy reaction??? laugh) Anyway, we called Karla and said....You can take the "hold" off this child on the internet list. Karla said, oh..are you sure? I said...yes, I'm sure. She said she was sorry to hear that. I said...you can take the "hold" off and mark her "matched"..we are taking her! (I know it was devilish, but I couldn't resist teasing Karla..she thought I was saying we didn't want her.) By the way, there were seven other families on a waiting list who wanted her if we had said "no".

Over the next eight months, we looked at our finances and tried to figure out how we were going to come up with all the funds we needed to adopt Esther Marie and take care of this first surgery. We would need $20,000 to $25,000 for the adoption and then a minimum of $20,000 for the cleft palate surgery. Considering we were already in debt, this seemed overwhelming. We tried to find another insurance policy and that didn't work out. We asked everyone to pray for God to provide a financial miracle....THAT worked! When we got home from China and started making doctor appointments and calling the insurance company to see how we could handle the costs, God made a way...and provided the miracle. Friends, family and physicians urged us to contact the hospital and the insurance company to talk to them about the surgery and the costs. I dreaded trying to deal with all of it and finding out the real costs, but I finally made the calls and am so glad I did. I called the insurance company once more and told the story for the third time. She asked me to hold and came back and said to me.....the surgery will be covered. Again, I was stunned, but a "good" stunned! I said to her...please forgive me for not believing you, but I am not sure I do. Could you please check with your supervisor and ask that person? I held on once again for a longer period of time and she came back and said...yes, you are covered. I told her I didn't understand because we had been told THREE times back in October 2007 that we would NOT be covered...and there were NO exceptions. I was told that twice when I called and Jasper called once more and was told the same thing. Our insurance booklet was thick and confusing and we couldn't tell by reading it and that is why we had called them to verify coverage. Now on this day, I was crying and laughing on the phone with this lady and saying...praise God, praise God. I told her I didn't understand but I believed that God was blessing us because we had stepped out in faith to adopt this child even though we had no clue how we would pay for everything!!!! She then told me she believed that I had called in October and been told that we wouldn't be covered because it was right here in their computer records. They had made a "mistake" and she was going to send an email to the man I spoke with in October to tell him so. The other two reps who told us "no" also...well, perhaps they just read his notation and told us the same thing without really checking???? Who knows??? What was the reason for all of this confusion? I really don't know, but I do know it has definitely increased our faith and trust in God and we give Him ALL OF THE GLORY for this miracle!!! Trust God, not your insurance company...that's for sure!!!!

To conclude, I will say that we still have debt for the adoption expenses (about half) and we will have medical expenses...deductibles and 20% of the costs. But I have total faith in God that HE is going to provide ALL that is needed and even more! Thank you again to all of those who have prayed and donated and are helping. We do have the $2300+ in the fund and it will increase! The surgery is August 20th....that date is a miracle also because we got a cancellation date and were stuck in a slot that someone probably would have liked to have had. God is the conductor and He is orchestrating all of it....ALL PRAISE AND HONOR AND GLORY TO HIM!!!!

Is This Heaven?

This morning my eyes fluttered open and there above me was this precious face. You know...close...like right there...face to face...practically touching. Precious Emmie was smiling sweetly and gently stroking my cheek to wake me up. When my eyes opened, she leaned over and planted a kiss right on my mouth and laughed. Then she threw herself into my arms. Ahhhhh....what a nice way to wake up instead of to a screaming baby! On the other side of me was MaryAlyce and she stretched and opened her eyes and smiled at me. Then we all giggled, snuggled and played together for about 20 minutes before we got up. As I was laying there, at one point, I thought to myself....this must be what heaven is like...or close to it....peaceful and sweet, surrounded by those you love. What a great way to start a day. I love how the bonding is going! I must admit...I have been fussy about the kids crowding my bed, but I repent! I am thankful to God that they seek me out for love and comfort and that they know mommy's arms are a place of refuge from scarey thoughts, dark corners, creaky floors and spiders!

My Fingers Are Itching To Type.......

Good Morning! There was an awesome time of sharing at church on Wednesday night and I gave a testimony about the miracles God has provided for Esther Marie. Then we had a long and exhausting "medical day" yesterday that went very well. My fingers are itching to type so I can tell you all about everything. But first....I have to fix brunch for my family, as promised....then I will gladly jump at the chance to share. If you have been checking the blog and wondering how things went, please drop back by later today for updates!

The doctor visit is tomorrow and Esther Marie will be seeing her surgeon, having her hearing tested by the audiologist and seeing the ENT about having tubes put in her ears. The appointment is at 8:00 AM, and we would appreciate prayer for the right decisions to be made. As I said before, surgery is August 20th. I will let you know what the doctors say as soon as I find out. We are praying that she does not have any hearing loss from previous ear infections.

Tonight is testimony night at church and I am looking forward to sharing our miracle. Jasper won't be able to make it because of a previous work commitment. God is so good and has answered so many prayers for us!

Esther Marie is doing very well and her little personality is continuing to blossom. She is becoming more bold and definitely lets us know what she wants. She is having a good time playing with new toys and experiencing things she has never done before. Today a little bucket became a hat and her blanket became a cape. She was cute strutting around in it. Blocks are fun because you can stack them up and knock them down...over and over again. Standing on the air conditioner vent seems to be a favorite thing. I guess she loves feeling the air blow on her. I wonder what she is thinking when she does that? Wouldn't you just love to get inside the mind of a toddler sometimes??? (smile)

Emmie is understanding more language but is still pointing and grunting a lot to try to let us know what she wants. That can be frustrating at times for her and for mommy! We are trying to teach her some baby/toddler sign language so she can communicate better. She has the "more" sign down, especially when it comes to food! Since it will be awhile before she is speaking well, I think we need to make a trip to the library to get some books with more signing symbols. The more she learns, the less frustrated we all will be.

Summer School Is Over!

School's out! Yippie! Joshua, who completed third grade this past school year, was given a chance to go to summer school...an enrichment program. He started on June 2nd and his last day was July 11th. I think he is glad to be done with the school part, but he says he is going to miss his new friends. The good news is one of them will be going to his school this year. Here's a picture of Joshua with his reading class, taken during the open house they had. Hannah and MaryAlyce joined the group for the photo. The boys acted out a play that was based on the Emperor's new clothes. There was alot of laughing and the principal ended up in his underwear! No, not the REAL principal...just one of the boys playing the part. Summer sure is zipping by this year!

Good To See So Many Of You!

Today was our first time back at church and just wanted to say that it was SO good to see so many of you again......and was good for you to finally meet Esther Marie! She seemed overwhelmed a few times, but on the whole did really well. Thanks to Ms. Kathy for letting us come in to say hello during Children's Church. Thanks again to everyone for your interest, support and prayers. If we didn't see you this morning, hopefully we will see you soon!

We Have A Definite Surgery Date and a Miracle!

I learned today from our surgeon's assistant that we have a definite surgery date for Esther Marie....AUGUST 20th!

We hope you will be praying for little Emmie...we yearn for lots of prayer covering. This date is a miracle because we were told that the wait for surgery would put us at the end of October. The ideal time for Esther Marie to have had her palate repaired would have been by the time she turned 12 months old. She is now 27 months old and it's waaaaaaaaay past time! We praise God for the way he has continuously sped everything up for her throughout this whole adoption process and now for her surgery as well. There was a cancellation for the 20th and the slot was given to us...IT'S ALL GOD!!!!!!!!

We have another miraculous answer to prayer which we will be sharing next Wednesday at church since that night has been set aside as a designated time to share about what God is doing. We are in awe of God and how He is looking out for our new precious daughter. I will probably be crying when I try to talk so just hand me some tissue.

After we share at church, I will post the good news on this blog site. So stay tuned!

What miracles has God done for you lately? Please share with us by leaving a comment.

Life Is Constantly Changing...Isn't It A Blast???

It's hard to believe I started this blog on May 16th and now it is almost two months later! Life is constantly changing, so I decided I needed to update the blog header...especially since Esther Marie wasn't in the picture. I just wanted to save the first header to the blog as a post, so bear with me....and I hope you enjoy seeing a new picture of our four sweet kids. It was taken at Vacation Bible School this week at the community church near our home. It will be fun changing this photo as the seasons change, year by year...watching our children grow. We hope you will stay with us and watch them grow too. Thanks for your loving support of our family as we have adopted each of our children. You bless us and we hope our family blesses you as well!

Original Blog Header Text...posted May 16, 2008

We're Jasper and Sarah and this blog is about our four beautiful adopted children who will be 4-Ever In Our Hearts! Well, technically we don't have the fourth one yet, but our "Gotcha Day" in China for Esther Marie is June 10th! And so we begin this blog with her adoption and will continue to share more about our children: one butterfly (Hannah Beth), two ladybugs (MaryAlyce and Esther Marie) and a bumble bee (Joshua Chen).

With Sore Throats and Sniffles, Who Can Resist A Popsicle???

The whole family (except Joshua) has been struggling to get over coughs, runny noses, and sore throats for about two weeks. A few days ago when everyone was complaining, mom came to the rescue with some popsicle fun! This is Esther Marie's first popsicle experience and she more than liked it! Here's her first wide-eyed taste. MMMmmmmmmm! Taking a little break from the cold and trying to figure out what this thing is.
Emmie gives hers the "thumbs up" signal....she likes it!

No mommy, I didn't try on your lipstick...it's my popsicle. I promise!Getting a little silly and showing off the color on tongues now....Mommy, is my tongue red? Ugh yes, MaryAlyce....say "ahhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Hannah gets in on the tongue fun now showing off her Smirff blue one....and Emmie is watching and taking it all in.

Now Esther Marie joins in and shows off her colored tongue! Sorry baby, yellow doesn't show up like blue and red. But you are a great little imitator and your tongue is so cute!

This is so yummy mom and lots of fun...let's do it again soon.

If you gotta be sick, might as well have a little fun. So thought we would share our fun with you.

What's your favorite popsicle flavor? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Bonding IS Happening!

I get SO excited when I see real evidence that bonding is happening! Esther Marie has been a part of our family for almost a month now.....hard to believe! She has been having trouble at nap time and bed time and whimpers and cries when she even thinks it might be time to sleep. Tonight, all the other kids were in bed, and I was zoning out on the couch while Emmie was playing happily with her toys in the den. She was pretending to pour tea and feed herself...very sweet. It was about 11:30 and she seemed to be going strong. (Had a late and long nap today.) All of a sudden, she toddled over to me and put her face right in my face and smiled. Then she kissed me. When I smiled back, she climbed up on the couch, laid her head down on me and snuggled against me. I was speechless! In a few minutes, she raised her head and I thought, okay...that was that...she's done and wants to play again. But she surprised me again as she endlessly does....she smiled again and laid her head back down. I patted her gently on her little back and she dozed off in less than five minutes. It was SO sweet...just a perfect mommy/daughter bonding time and such a relief that there wouldn't be alot of crying tonight...sigh...life is good!

Wanna Play?

Is Summer Over????

Wow...we were in Toys-R-Us last night looking at car seats and what did we walk by? SCHOOL SUPPLIES! Yikes! Is summer over? I always feel that "back-to-school panic" when I see bins and bins of scissors, crayons and notebook paper. Are they starting early this year? Perhaps it's like Halloween and Christmas, and we are eventually going to see school supplies in the stores in early June or even May. I know we are supposed to register our kids for elementary school on Thursday of this week. We were in China and getting over jet lag for the majority of June I know, so summer seems to be flying by. I would like to back track now and enjoy those "lazy days" of summer!

The kids are in another VBS this week at a community church near our house. They are going in the evening from 6-8 p.m. and the theme is "Power Lab - Discovering Jesus' Miraculous Power." We didn't have evening VBS when I was a kid...things surely have changed alot since then.

Joshua is attending his last week of the summer school enrichment program. He's been going at it for six weeks and hasn't missed a day. The girls and I attended an open house today at the school without baby...daddy kept her at home for us.

Post a comment and tell us what you are busy doing this summer!

Upcoming Surgery Date?

Yesterday, Esther Marie turned 27 months old. It's hard for me to believe she is that old because I think of her as my new "baby." Developmentally, she is behind in some areas, especially speech...so that's why I probably have a hard time realizing she is almost 2-1/2. But as she is toddling around messing with everything, then I say...hey, she IS a toddler!

I spoke with the surgeon's assistant on Monday, and we have an appointment to see the cleft team on July 17th at 8:00 a.m. I asked when the surgery might be scheduled and she told me they might have a cancellation for August 20th...wow! Otherwise, the surgery will be near the end of October. I really hope the 20th works out, so please pray with us for it to happen if that's what God wants. It would be nice to get her started with speech therapy as soon as possible...and that can't happen until after the surgery.

July 4th Fun!

2008...July 4th Together

Esther Marie's 1st Independence Day

We ate dinner at a local BBQ place and then headed toward town to enjoy the festivities. Esther Marie loves french fries and mac 'n cheese! She made the funniest face after tasting ketchup and then shook her head no! There was a carnival going on and the kids had time for just one ride because the lines were so long. They chose this one and were excited to get going with the fun. (Click on Photos to Enlarge)

Hannah is a wild woman! She was spinning the car they were in so fast that they other two were having a hard time holding on. They were laughing so hard and even though mommy, daddy and Emmie didn't ride, we had fun watching them. Boy were they dizzy when they got off!

It was night time so we didn't get alot of great opportunities for photos, but this one turned out sweet. Maybe next year when Emmie is older, we can celebrate all day long with a picnic/cookout and bike riding, two of the things we love to do together as a family.

Dad and Joshua....my two guys just hanging out.

Esther Marie got excited by the crowd and the music and all the activity. Mommy was taking pictures and here you can see that Emmie was wanting mommy and took a dive to try to get there. Mommy loves these funny pictures!

Dad and the gang...Esther Marie wants DOWN to play...enough of this picture taking! She was wearing her new, red, squeaky shoes and she liked hearing the sound when she toddled around.

I love this little chair and the fireworks...see my big smile?

(Mommy forgot to bring her tripod so she could get a picture of the beautiful fireworks.)

Three sisters bonding as they enjoy their first July 4th together. Wonder what kind of girl fun they'll be having as they grow up together through the years?

I think this little girl is just all tuckered out from her fireworks adventure. She didn't even last five minutes after Dad started the van. Sleep well, precious one.

Stormy Saturday

I love it when I have no real pressure to do anything and I can stay inside all snug and warm and dry on a rainy day. The house is darker and cozier because of the storm and that makes me want to snuggle up and read a good book. Instead, I am blogging. (laugh) Hannah is sick now, running a fever and has a sore throat. The fever started during the night. I am coughing and sluggish today too with a sore throat. MaryAlyce keeps giving me a numerical update on how she is feeling each day....today I am a "6" mommy (10 being the worst). Joshua is well and that is a blessing. He seems to stay well more than anyone....perhaps that is from all the spicy stuff he likes to eat. I guess we are all just swapping germs around and each person gets sick a different way.

I am glad it was not raining last night and we could get out of the house for a little while for the 4th. We had been inside all day and the kids were bouncing off the walls (4 walls, 4 kids). We tried our favorite BBQ place for dinner but the wait was an hour and a half...forget that! So we kept driving until we found another place...and enjoyed some BBQ sandwiches. Then we headed toward town and the fireworks show that was starting at 9:00. We got there and staked out a spot, leaving our lawn chairs, and then we walked around some. There was a street fair/carnival in the area and the kids had time to ride one ride before the fireworks. They were happy with that and so was our wallet! The fireworks were beautiful and our favorite was the one that exploded and looked like a happy face. Everyone went home with a smile on their faces and the two littlest ones fell asleep almost immediately in the car while driving home. I guess the excitement wore them out.

I'll post some cute pics soon when my children let me get on the computer where the photos have been downloaded. They are computer "hogs." Hope you all are having a great (even if rainy) Saturday! Comment and tell us what you love doing on a rainy day.

Hope Your Holiday Was Great!

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

We hope you had an awesome day enjoying family and friends and by perhaps taking a dip in the pool or grilling your favorite meal. But in addition to all that fun stuff, we hope you took a few moments to thank God for the freedom and the privileges that we all share by living in this great country.

God Bless America and God Bless Each of You!

Love,

Sarah and Jasper,

Hannah, Joshua, MaryAlyce and Esther Marie

What did you do to celebrate July 4th? Post a comment or sign our guest book to let us know.

Report on International Adoption Clinic Visit on Wed., July 2nd

All smiles and ready to go home after a long but good visit at the IAC. Let's go! (two of my favorite words)

Gee, what is that look on my daddy's face??? Was it something I said or did I need a diappy change???

I liked Dr. Jennifer! She is nice and made me laugh.

Can you tell that MaryAlyce is just slightly bored? (More waiting.)

Mommy listens intently to Ms. Leigh Ann as she goes over how to fill out an assessment form.

Drawing with MaryAlyce in the examination room...more waiting.

This was so fun I wouldn't look up at mommy. I wish I could have taken this fun toy home with me.

Waiting with Mommy for our appointment to begin.

I have been needing to write this blog post for a couple of days, but have been avoiding it I think. Even though the visit went well, it is hard for me to think of all the things that Esther Marie is going to have to go through. No parent likes to see their child in pain and for some reason, this is especially hard for me with Emmie. I feel like she has already been through so much yet she is such a trooper. And I am sure it is that sweet little personality that is going to help get her through more difficulties. Part of me wishes we could just avoid all this...I love the way her two little front teeth peek out at me when she smiles and I think her cleft palate is sweet. I don't want anyone cutting on her, but I know in the long run it's what is best for her and her development. I'm sure it's a painful surgery and her little arms will have to be restrained in some way while she heals. That breaks my heart. When Joshua had his palate redone, we had to be very careful that he didn't poke it with anything sharp. He was 8 and we could talk to him about it. Easier said than done with a two year old, thus the restraints.

Anyway, getting beyond all the emotion that I am feeling right now, I will tell you that this first visit was a good one and not very threatening for Emmie. Karla from our adoption agency met us at the clinic and it was so great to see her. She is in charge of the China program. I was excited that she could meet Esther Marie. She stayed with us while we waited and we shared with her about our trip and the adoption. We also ran into another mom with her child that was adopted at the same time. It was nice to see little Hope again.

The first person we met with was Leigh Anne who is a social worker/family therapist with the clinic who specializes in bonding and attachment. We had a nice time catching up and telling her about Esther Marie and our other children. She has worked with us each time now after our China adoptions. We talked about Emmie and how she is adapting, sleeping, eating, and reacting. We got suggestions and were again reassured that it's okay that she is sleeping with us, which is great for bonding. She has rejected the crib and Leigh Anne said that's okay....remember that she spent most of her life in a crib (probably 20 hours each day) and it's not a positive place for her. We talked about the other kids' emotions, reactions and development too, and Leigh Anne will be helping us with that also. She has two adopted daughters from China so she is living much of what we experience and that's very helpful. Adopted children have special issues that non-adopted kids don't have and it's very important to educate ourselves about the issues and acknowledge them. Leigh Anne helps us do this. We'll be checking in again with her in about three weeks at our next appointment.

Next we met with Dr. Jennifer who is so sweet and gentle. She has twin girls adopted from China. Esther Marie responded to her with smiles and giggles most of the time. She checked her over and we talked about her medical history. We also spent alot of time talking about how to try to get things covered by our insurance company and which doctors we needed to see. She was helpful in advising us about who to call at the hospital and told us to ask for a case manager at our insurance company. I have a bunch of phone calls to make next week after the holiday!

So, Dr. Jennifer thinks Emmie is pretty healthy. She is in less than the 10th percentile for weight and less than 30 for height. She has gained some weight and is 25 lbs. now and just over 32 inches tall. Thankfully, she is a good eater. Jennifer wants to have her checked for parasites, but that is a common thing to check for in children from overseas. There is a LONG list of blood work that is recommended, and we took the list with us and need to check with insurance to see which things might be covered. I would like to have titers testing done to check her immunizations because I don't want to duplicate immunizations that are good. I prefer not to immunize at all, but the law is not on my side in that area....sigh.

Anyway, Dr. Jennifer says Emmie needs to have her hearing and her eyesight checked out, so we will make appointments to have that done. We also will go to the ENT because she must have tubes put in her ears ASAP. She stressed how important that is for a child born with cleft in order to have the brain and ears work together to process speech correctly. There is a problem with fluid build-up for children born with cleft issues and if it's not dealt with, it can affect her speech permanently in a negative way.

Of course, we know Esther Marie needs her palate repaired soon. Dr. Jennifer told us she thinks surgery is booked up for about 4 months, so I guess it will be a little longer than expected before we can get that taken care of. It's okay because it will give us more bonding time before she has to endure that. As I said, it has about a 6-week recovery period and her arms will have to be restrained to keep her from poking things into her mouth that can damage the repair while it is healing.

Esther Marie will also need some surgery on some of her fingers. Why? Because of scarring from the fire ant bites. When Jennifer asked about the spots all over her and we told her they were from fire ant bites she received when she was one day old, she got very emotional and said, okay...that is going to take me some time to get over knowing THAT! I can relate because when I think about what Emmie must have gone through and the pain she had to endure when she first arrived in this world, it grieves me so much that I cry. Have you ever had even one fire ant sting? Try having dozens and dozens when you are one day old....need I say more??? Anyway, her little joints on her pointing fingers are distorted and she can't straighten out her fingers, so she will more than likely need to have the skin cut and the scarring released so she can use those little fingers better. We will talk more with Dr. G who is the cleft surgeon we are seeing. He is a pediatric plastic surgeon so he would do the repair on the fingers also. I am very thankful to God that we have such a great cleft team here in our town!

Okay...back to Dr. Jennifer's exam....she also found that Esther Marie had an extreme amount of wax build-up in her ears. She worked globs of it out of both ears...and Emmie did cry during this because Jennifer said it did hurt her. After working on both ears, she said it was too much and we should use some drops at bath time to help soften the hardened wax. We'll do that before the next visit in three weeks. I am sure there are other issues that might come up so that's why we go back for a follow-up visit soon. In the meantime, we have blood work to deal with and parasite testing, appointments to make, and insurance issues to work out. I do feel overwhelmed right now but I know we have endured all the rigorous requirements of adoption four times, all of Joshua's medical issues and two surgeries for him, so we can make it through all of this too....so will the family and so will Esther Marie. (As a side thought, please pray for MaryAlyce who has been having nosebleeds and we are not sure why.)

Next visit, we will see Jennifer, Leigh Anne and also Jill, who is the Occupational Therapist. She will help us figure out how Emmie is doing developmentally. We see some issues already where we know she is lagging for her age, but since this is our third adoption from China, we know she'll catch up. We just need to identify as much as possible so we can get her the help she needs.

We want to thank the great staff at the IAC for everything...Jennifer, Leigh Anne, Jill and the support staff....thanks for helping us help our kids! God bless you all!

Today Was One Of Those Days....

....and I'm sure most of you reading this blog can relate! I was awake by 5:00 a.m. (nature was calling). When I returned to bed, I had lost my spot to two sleeping beauties (no, Jasper was not one of them!). They had rolled together while I was gone and filled my spot. MaryAlyce was running some fever last night and complaining of a sore throat, so she gravitated our way in the wee morning hours. And Esther Marie ended up in bed with us at some point also which seems to be the norm now. To an outsider, it would probably have been comical. To someone who likes to sleep, not so funny! First, I tried laying across the bed (a queen size) at everyone's feet. That didn't work....Jasper is too long! Frustrated, I threw my pillow on the floor and curled up there. (Ouch...too hard!) Last ditch effort was to make Jasper get up to let me back in. I sucked in my breath so I would fit, breathed a sigh of relief, closed my eyes......as if on que, Emmie pops up her bobbing little head, blinks and starts to coo and smile. So that's how my day started....

Around 6:00, I stumbled downstairs half asleep and made Cream of Wheat while Esther Marie watched and wailed, coffee was brewing, and mini bagels were popping up in the toaster. I made all the kids get up by 7:00 so we could eat together. No, I am not crazy...LOL...just tired of them sleeping in when I can't and then I am passing out by 8 p.m. while they are running circles around me. (Picture hostage tied up with little Indians dancing around!) Anyway, I think Hannah's face ended up in her bowl of cream of wheat as she tried to sleep at the table. (She's my kid who wants to sleep until noon because she sneaks and stays up late reading.) Jasper got to join us this morning and headed out the door about 7:30 to his consultant job downtown. He was gone most of the day working, doing errands and then had a business meeting tonight at 8:00.

In the meantime, by mid-morning, I was dealing with "distant", "pouty", "whiny" and "wailing". Those are my children I am referring to! Throw in "overwhelmed" as my description and you can imagine how things were going. I spent most of my day giving pep talks and putting out small fires, so to speak. It never fails that when we add another sibling to the pot, emotions soar off the scale and everyone needs even more individual attention, affirmation and love. But then Mom and Dad seem to get lost in the shuffle of it all. I look forward to a few weeks down the line when Emmie has acclimated to the family brood and the others feel less threatened. Ahhhhh.....

Until then, we would appreciate your continued prayer for our family as everyone gets used to the changes in our household.....and bonding works it's magic for little Esther Marie.

Blessings to all! Hope you get a good night's rest!