Our adoption journey to meet Lili-Kate

Summer, Parties, and Potties

2009-07-05T18:54:00.006-05:00

Are we really already half way through summer break? Well for our family, we spend a lot of time at home just hanging out because it is an enormous deal to try and venture out with two two year olds. We bought a little pool for the girls and they spend hours in it...splashing and having fun. I am really missing our pool from our old house. Summer with a pool...and then summer without a pool...hmmm...need to budget that in again! That pool brought our family together, along with all the kids in the neighborhood! Which I might add, did not bother me at all!

We spent the 4th with our family and some friends. It was really fun! We also surprised my brother with gifts and a cake for his 30th birthday! For those of you that know him, know this already but for those of you that don't, my brother Jason, is a great guy! He is a former marine, a dedicated police officer, a loving husband, a great dad, and an Air Force Reservist. I want to honor him and all the other military personell that follow their hearts and serve our country so that we can remain free. The fourth of July remains a holiday for us because of people like him. I am thankful for him and proud of the man that he has become. Happy Birthday Bubba!

I can't believe I am saying this but Bella will be three on Friday. Now, I don't know if it is just me or what but time is a flying! Being baby number 4, it seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with her. She is getting to be the big girl. She has finally decided to potty train...quite the task with all of our recent travels. We would get a really good start and then she would just resort back to the diaper. Understandably though with all the changes. Tough on a girl at times! Lili Kate is also in the process of potty training and doing quite well might I add. I am so proud of the progress she is making. She sleeps well, plays well, and is now speaking some really nice english. Granted it is with a cantonese twist, but nevertheless, it's english! She is doing much better in crowds too. When we went to the party yesterday for the fourth, she put on the show. She loved the attention. For the first time, she liked being the center of attention for a minute. She's a true sweetheart.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! Thanks to all of our soldiers, past and present, for serving our country!

~bobbie~

Where did you go?

2009-06-21T21:58:00.004-05:00

Many of you are probably wondering where I have been since I haven't posted in soooo long. But for those of you that have adopted or even had a new baby you know that all the extra time you used to have, you no longer have. With two toddlers and the other three out of school, my hands have been very full. We have had alot of adjusting, amazingly it has been the hardest on BG. LK is such a blessing to our family. We are so thankful for her. We get tickled with her because she is so little but yet she walks around like she is so big. She and BG do good together but granted, with two two year olds there is always some conflict with sharing or jealousy. This summer has been busy for us. We took her to see her pediatric cardiologist who says she has a definite hole in her heart but the good news is that she be four or five before they will do anything with it. She will go on with a normal life until the procedure. She eats everything and anything and sleeps really well. We transitioned her into her own bed about two weeks ago and she was more than ready for it. She absolutely loves her big girl bed. She would much rather be with BG in their room at bedtime...and naptime but we haven't got that far yet. She still wants to play and talk with BG so we still put her down in the crib in our room.

I couldn't have dreamed that LK would be this awesome. She is so sweet and happy. She does get a little shy around people she doesn't know but overall she is doing great! What an angel! She loves the kids too! They play with her and love on her and she eats it up! We asked JJ what he thought about her and he said she is everything wonderful that she could be. How sweet! She loves her brother and sisters! And they love her!

We are blessed to have her and hope she always feels blessed to have us!

One week today

2009-05-20T10:30:00.003-05:00

We have been home a week today. The progress of adjustment has been amazing. Ci Ci is doing wonderful. Our sleep problems have subsided. She and BG are doing great together during the day and she is growing attached to the other kids. She is so sweet natured and has a great spirit about her. The only time I see any problems is when her and BG get in a tug of war over a toy but that's pretty typical for a couple of two year olds. We feel very blessed to have LK in our lives. We had a rough and bumpy start but she is doing so much better now. I think she is adjusting quickly...alot more quickly than we thought she would.

We will be visiting our pediatrician in the morning for a physical. I am anxious to see what she has to say!

I went to an Awards Ceremony at the Elementary School yesterday and my sweet Anna got a reading achievement award. We were so proud of her. She has come a long way this year! Third grade was a challenge but she worked hard and it has paid off! She loves her medal for her reading achievements!

I am still very tired from the jetlag even though everyone is sleeping through the night now. I almost feel more exhausted now that I am getting rest! I hope this gets better soon because all I want to do right now is take a nap! That's near impossible with two two year olds! :) Fortunately they both sleep at the same time so I can sneak one in if I try.

We are looking forward to some time with my inlaws this weekend. This will be their first time to meet LK since they live out of town. They will be in love...and I have a feeling she will be showered with some kisses and hugs when they see her!

Home Sweet Home

2009-05-17T01:29:00.002-05:00

Well today was our third day home. I have to admit it has been quite an adjustment. We are all very jetlagged! Wow! I didn't know you could be that tired! LK now has a much harder time sleeping and fights bedtime or naptime terribly regardless of the fact that she is exhausted and needs to rest. Today was a little better. She actually napped two and a half hours without waking and crying. I do see some improvement.

We introduced her to our dog, Angel and at first she didn't like her. But today LK was feeding Angel popcorn and they are getting along great. The kids are really wonderful with LK. Anna who is nine has just fell in love. JJ and Haley have just opened their hearts wide to her. BG is awesome too and God has really given her alot of grace in the addition of LK. It is hard for a two year old to grasp another child joining a family but she has done it so well. Not to say there are not times of battle because there are but we have been amazed at how well BG has done.

LK loves to eat and we have introduced a wide range of different foods. She loves it all! I have not seen her reject one thing we have tried to give her...except some oatmeal...I think it reminds her of congee. She is a great eater! Hopefully she will start gaining some weight now. She is still so small! We have dug into boxes of BG's old clothes and found some 12 month pj's that she is wearing. They are even big on her!

Overall, I think we are doing well. We are working through our sleep issue which I know is an issue with most all adopted or foster children. I know we will get through it! LK is doing well physically too. I will take her to the doctor this week and see what we can find out about her heart. Thanks for all your prayers! Love, Bobbie

30 hours of planes, trains and automobiles

2009-05-14T12:21:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging but it has been a crazy few days. Tuesday was our Consulate appointment to get LK's visa to the US. We were then transferred to the train station where we took a couple hour train ride to Hong Kong. By the time we got settled in it was so late and we had to leave early the next morning to fly home. We started our journey home Wednesday morning at 6. Flew into Newark then to Nashville and finally home. The girls did awesomely well! We were amazed at how LK did. BG too! When we got home last night, my mom and dad and grandmother were here to meet LK. The kids were all sweet and excited to finally meet their new little sister. LK went straight to Haley. LK looked at Angel 0ur dog like she was an alien. I don't think she's ever seen a dog. The girls went to bed around midnight and by 4:30 am we were all up again. Needless to say they are exhausted but considering what they had to endure to get back home, they were angels. Did I say it is good to be home? It is sooooo good to be home! Thanks to all of your encouragement and prayers. LK is doing very well and we will have a doctor's appointment next week to see how her heart is doing. We are all very glad to be back together as a family!

Monkeys and moments...

2009-05-11T06:45:00.004-05:00

All this time I have been posting and I don't think I have told you what LK's name is....atleast has been while she has been in China. When we got her we were told that her nickname is "CiCi" pronounced "Chi Chi". So from the beginning that is what we have called her and so far she recognizes us calling her by that or Lili-Kate. The language barrier has been a challenge. She tries hard to communicate with us and us with her and so far we have done okay. Today we went to the zoo and while BG was fascinated LK was uninterested (unless it involved riding in the trolley). When we got back to the hotel we went to the playroom and it was a sight I will never forget. BG ran in and started playing with all the toys. It was only LK and BG in there and LK just stood and looked. She didn't really know what to do. After she watched BG for a minute she joined in. But she didn't know how to work most of the toys. I think it was the first time she had seen any toys like those. Just typical toys we are used to seeing maybe in a church nursery or something but she was just standing there looking...uncertain. Once she started figuring it all out she was having a blast. Sweet!

LK is feeling much better! We are facing some challenges with her bahavior. She has quite the temper for a little two year and we are beginning to work through some of that. But when she is sweet...she is oh so sweet!

Well we head out for Hong Kong tomorrow and I cannot get home soon enough. Although the trip has been wonderful, I am sooooo homesick! I am ready to get BG back on her schedule and LK introduced to her new home and family! See you soon!

Shopping and swimming...

2009-05-10T04:57:00.008-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and Mrs. T...and to all the mommies out there! Today was the day we took our famous "red couch" photo. LK wasn't really in the mood but she did it anyway! :) She and I headed out to do some shopping while JT and BG stayed behind and went swimming at the hotel pool.

Just a few more days and we will be heading home! Boy am I ready! It has been a good trip and I feel like I will never be the same after this. In a good way of course! This entire adoption experience has changed me to the core. It really has!

Tomorrow is our Consulate appointment and then Tuesday we take a train to Hong Kong where we fly out on Wednesday. Yay! Miss you guys...see you soon!

Guangzhou...woohoo...

2009-05-08T23:54:00.003-05:00

We made it Guangzhou last night and arrived at the White Swan Hotel around 8 p.m. The hotel is amazing and we now feel like we are among the living...you know us westerners! We spoiled! :) Any-o-hoo...LK screamed through most of the flight here but she did great last night. She laughed and played and NO FEVER! This morning we had her medical check and she has been very lethargic again today. She has been sleeping for the last several hours. I cannot wait to get her home and let our pediatrician check her out. She is so small. This afternoon we will meet with our guide for more paperwork and then tomorrow is our free day to shop. I am very excited about that because things here are very reasonable. LK only has like 3 outfits that really fit her so I have been alternating them with a pair of PJ's until I could get out and buy her some things here. Guangzhou is definitely more westernized and that helps tremendously. I just had my first cup of starbucks! So yummy! The coffee here in the hotel is so much stronger than what I can stand. I am soooo glad to see a STARBUCKS! On a funny note, I can't remember if I posted this already but the girls have had some "first" potty experiences while in China. We had been told that LK could tell us when she needed to go so we sat her on the western potty (her first time on a western potty) and at first she started whining and then I gave her the "word" she needed to hear and she did her thing. Ever since then if we take her she will go. Pretty cool because she is so little, it doesn't seem like she should be doing that! The chinese use squatty potties and so Bella had her first experience with that and although she did exactly what she was supposed to, it ended up on Momma's shoes. This trip has already been so memorable. I would have never just taken a trip to China but because of adoption we were able to see how the chinese live. We miss you all and can't wait to get back so you can meet sweet LK! Don't be fooled by that sweet smile though, she is still a two year old! :) She can be a bit fiesty! We will post later with some pics. We still don't have the adapter for the camera to download them. Love and hugs to you guys!

Much better!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-08T01:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday after I posted LK woke up with a 104.6 fever! Naturally, I panicked! I called our friend Doug that works at New Day in Beijing and his nurse and he were so helpful with anwering some of our questions. Thank you guys so much! We started LK on tylenol and motrin every three hours and by last night her fever had broken. We were elated. This is the first time since we got LK that she has been basically fever free. So far today the highest it has been was 99! Yay! Thanks for your prayers. She is much better today!

Last night we went to dinner with our new friends that just adopted their two year old. That was fun! We walked the streets of Nanning on our last night here and it was a very pleasant evening.

We got home last night and LK laughed and played. Come bedtime though she started the grieving process that we had heard about. She cried and cried and sometimes in her sleep. I did my best to comfort her and let her know it would be okay but it was still heartwrenching.

She woke up this morning and so far she has felt pretty good. Did I mention she has quite the temper? She is a good girl though. Just needs a little work on understanding she can't have everything she wants all the time. :) We will get there. Today we visited the largest park in Nanning. It was really nice and we had a great time. I am posting pics and video from last night and today. We will be flying to Guangzhou at 5:45 and will arrive there around 6:45. I will update more later. Thanks again to all of you that have prayed for us and LK. She is much better today!

uh oh...hey..hey..hey

2009-05-07T00:38:00.005-05:00

I am sitting in front of the computer with a minutes peace and quiet so I thought I would just pop in on the blog and give you guys an update. Lili-Kate woke up with a 103 fever this morning. Jeff and I are determined to see her well...really well. JT, BG and LK are all sleeping..having their afternoon naptime. I took a little one this morning while JT and LK had some bonding time. It was nice because it has been a very emotional journey. I will admit that it is not at all what we expected but I should've known better than come with preconcieved ideas. That is not how life is. We have had a lot of pleasant and not so pleasant surprises on this journey to adopt Lili-Kate. Right now we are not sure if the heart disease is causing her illness or what exactly is going on but we do know that God designed this baby to be a part of our family. He knew what obstacles we would face and He knew we would pray for her. We will do whatever it takes to get her healthy. What an honor and priviledge to be able to be a part of her life.

We gave her some tylenol this morning to help with the fever and so far she has done pretty good today. She has been awake more than I have seen her. We are just very anxious to get her to the States and get her checked. That can't come soon enough!

We are ready to come home! We are missing our kids, our bed, and our family and friends! We have been in China since Wednesday of last week and I am starting to get really homesick now. Fortunately, we have some things coming up that will keep us busy. Tomorrow we get LK's passport and will fly out to Guangzhou where we will have her medicals and get her Visa to return to the US. We will arrive home on Wednesday night at 7:40 p.m. given there are no delays (God forbid!) We will leave Hong Kong and fly 15 hours to Nashville. Then we will have a two hour drive home! Not sure if we will make that drive Wednesday night or Thursday morning. We will just see how the girls are doing...

Thanks to all of you that continually pray for us and send sweet and encouraging comments to the blog and email. Although I haven't been able to respond individually, I have read each one and been so thankful for you guys! I have needed the encouragement and support. We just didn't realize the battle we would face once we got LK. My favorite saying is ringing in my ears..."No rain...no rainbows". It is true and we know that anytime battle rages there is a blessing on the other side. We have never doubted that LK is just that! One huge blessing and she is all her name says she is..." A Beautiful Gift from God". And we know with alot of love, prayers, and medical help she is going to grow beautifully!

Here is a video of LK and BG dancing the day we got her. What a sweetheart! She loves to dance..imagine that! :)

Some more pics...

2009-05-06T09:18:00.002-05:00

peekaboo...I see you

2009-05-06T08:29:00.006-05:00

This afternoon after the nap I gave Lili-Kate some tylenol and within about 45 minutes she felt well enough to play some. JT broke out the bubbles again and we played peekaboo. This is a short video of our time so far with Lili-Kate while she was feeling well enough to play...She is a sweetie and BG is doing great with her.

bubbles and bandaids

2009-05-06T00:58:00.004-05:00

Lili Kate slept good last night...still coughed but was better. When we got up this morning she was again, very lethargic and running a fever. Our guide, David who is so awesome, came to the hotel and he and I took Lili back to the hospital to have her rechecked. We all just needed the reassurance that we are just dealing with a childhood illness and nothing severe. They did some bloodwork and on her and checked her lungs and heart and once again, sent us away with some herbal treatments. She did seem a little better today. She ate breakfast and lunch but is still sleeping alot. I am hoping that she will feel better tomorrow. Keep her in your prayers. She is a little weak so I think its harder on her than it would be another child.

Meanwhile, JT and BG stayed behind at the hotel and took a break from hotel rooms, taxi rides, hospital visits and airports to give BG some time to run and play. So off they went to blow some bubbles. She ran and played until she just couldn't anymore. They came back to the room and JT turned to find BG had already crawled into bed for a nap. She was worn out! Fun time together for Dad and BG!

I will update again later...miss you guys alot! Can't wait to get Lili-Kate back to the States to meet her family and friends! Hugs!

Adoption day in the hospital

2009-05-05T08:05:00.003-05:00

We put Lili Kate down last night around ten and she coughed all night long. We finally tried to wake her this morning around seven so we could get some breakfast. She was completely lethargic and wouldn't eat or drink anything. It was obvious something was wrong. We were scheduled to be back at the Civil Affairs Office at nine so off we went but Lili Kate was not well at all. She couldn't hold up her head and she was completely listless. By the time we got to our appointment it was obvious she needed to see a doctor. After finalizing the adoption we made our way to the hospital in Nanning. She was checked by medical personnel that quickly determined that she had "childhood fever". I have seen many sick children but I have never seen one as sick as Lili Kate. They sent her to have an IV drip of antibiotic, fever reducer, and some herbal medicines. We were there for a few hours. We returned back to the hotel and I put her down in her crib. Within an hour she was up playing and eating and drinking. Major milestone from earlier. She has spent the rest of the day in a much better state. We were able to get out briefly and get some dinner. It was a much better evening than morning. We also found out today from the orphanage director that they expect she will need heart surgery. We knew there was always the possibility that her heart condition could be worse than we knew and I guess we won't really know until we get her back to the States and have her checked out by a pediatric cardiologist. She is the sweetest little thing! We wanted to give her some tylenol today but when we were to determine her dosage we realized she needed the infant instead. She is only 17 lbs. She is in a size small diaper and in 12 month clothing. She is a tiny little angel. She continues to need your prayers. They want her back at the hospital in the morning if she spikes another fever. I am wanting a healing...a miracle for her! God sent us here for her and now we need to put our faith out there to get her home! God has given us a gift adding her to our family! We are very blessed and honored to call her our daughter! Thank you to all of you that are praying for her and us! We have needed them today!

We need your prayers!

2009-05-04T16:46:00.003-05:00

Lili-Kate has spent most of the night coughing like crazy. She is running a fever and we are having a hard time getting her to eat or drink. I know she doesn't feel well at all and if I had to guess she probably at least has an ear infection. She was taken to the hospital friday and the doctor's report says she had high fever and cough. But my concern is that she is still running a fever. They are treating her with chinese medicine and no antibiotic. We are to return to the Civil Affair's Office this morning at 9 to finalize the adoption. Our guide told us that we can take her to the clinic again if we needed to. Please pray for her. She is so tiny and so frail. She needs to be healed. She is so precious and has such a sweet little spirit about her. We adore her already.

Introducing Lili-Kate!!!!!!!!

2009-05-04T07:52:00.003-05:00

We made it to the Civil Affairs Office and right away met Lili-Kate. She was crying and very upset for about 20 minutes and then she just calmed down and has played and laughed ever since. She is quite sick though. We were told that she was taken to the hospital on Friday with a high fever and cough. She is still sweet though despite how bad she must feel. Please pray for her speedy recovery. BG and Lili have already started bonding. They play very well together. Here are some photos of our first day together.

Today is the day!

2009-05-03T17:02:00.002-05:00

We are up already...at 4 a.m. and so excited to finally meet our Lili-Kate. We were able to talk with our guide last night that gave us some very valuable information. He took us to this fascinating outdoor chinese restaurant. The food was delicious and the best meal we have had since we arrived. We walked back to the hotel and I was amazed at how beautiful the city of Nanning is. It is tropical and it smells wonderful when you are walking down the street. When we were leaving the hotel we met another adoptive family arriving who will also be meeting their new daughter today at the same time as we do. They are from Illinois and very sweet.

Please continue to pray for us. We are anxious, excited, nervous...but know God is in this whole thing! We decided to ask our guide here to translate Lili's chinese name for us. We had already asked our guide in Beijing but thought we would see if we got the same interpretation. He said that Yi Ci means "a beautiful gift from God". Wow! I guess words can't really express at all what we are really feeling. Pray for divine favor with our new baby girl. Pray for her foster family. Pray for our children. Thanks to all of you who have sent words of encouragement and support. It really means so much to us!

more pics...

2009-05-03T05:10:00.002-05:00

Here are some more pics of our trip to New Day. Just wanted to share...

some pics in china

2009-05-03T05:01:00.003-05:00

We are in Nanning

2009-05-02T16:35:00.002-05:00

We started our day Saturday with breakfast and a trip to Tianamen Square. Then we said goodbye to Beijing. We boarded a plane and endured a three and a half hour turbulent flight to Nanning. I say endured because it was the scariest turbulence I have ever flown through. We made it safe and sound to Nanning where we met our new guide, David. We are staying at a hotel that the internet is really slow unless you are on really early in the morning or in the middle of the night. We are unable to load any pictures right now because we need the appropriate adapter. As soon as we get that adapter, we will post.

We will be making our first walmart trip this morning (sunday morning for us...saturday night for you). David told us that we will be meeting Lili-Kate Monday afternoon at 3 pm. So for you guys at home, by lunchtime on Monday we hope to have some pics for you to see of her. We are very anxious and excited. We know that she is with a foster family that will be saying goodbye to her so pray for that family as this is probably going to be very hard for them.

Nanning is a beautiful city. The people speak mostly cantonese and hardly any english at all. So we wished we had learned at least some cantonese. Our guide says he will teach us some basics to communicate with Lili-Kate. Well, I will post more later once we get our pics uploaded. We miss you guys! See you soon!

Visit to the Great Wall and Hutong

2009-05-01T11:39:00.011-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but when we got back to the hotel and I downloaded all my pics to the computer, suddenly it decided to shut down on its own and lost all my photos. It took Jeff a while to find them and by that time I was long gone into a world of deep sleep. It was a full day. We started with a very long journey to the Great Wall. Traffic was horrendous due to the fact that it is a holiday for the chinese people. Needless to say there were lots of visitors to the Great Wall. It was fascinating! Probably the most incredible thing I have ever seen. JT said he felt like he was carrying Elvis around because people would stop and ask to take pictures with BG. We talked to our guide, John, who said many of the visitors here have probably never seen a foreigner. They think little American children are cute! The crowd was enormous. John said there are always lots of visitors but today was significant because it was holiday for them. So unfortunately we were unable to cartwheel across the wall as we had planned but we did hike it! Whew!

After the wall, we ate lunch and went to Hutong. We were given a ride on a bicycle cart through Hutong. It was an awesome thing to see also. The culture here is so different from America...or anywhere else for that matter. It was fascinating! A very sweet chinese lady allowed us to come into her home and see how the chinese people live. She was very hospitable and warm! Of course by this time BG is passed out. She missed the entire trip to Hutong. It is so funny but we are still not adjusted to the time. We are still waking up around midnight. BG is so funny...when we come in after being out for the day we look for her and find her in her bed under the covers. For those of you that know BG...that just ain't like her! :) She is one tired baby but definitely a pleasant one! Today we will fly to Nanning where in just a couple of days we will meet our sweet Lili-Kate! Please continue to pray for us and LK. This is an exciting time for us but may be a little scary to her! We have dreamed of having her in our family but chances are she doesn't know or understand what is about to happen. I know God will be with us and her through the transition but your prayers are coveted! I wanted to share this pic of a gentleman driving down the road on a bicycle loaded down with logs. This is just one of the interesting things you see while riding down the road. The road here is shared with not only cars, vans and trucks but also bicycles of all kinds. Love to you all...post again soon...

Our visit to New Day

2009-04-30T03:26:00.010-05:00

Well our morning started at midnight when BG decided it was time to get up! We finally coerced her back to sleep around 3:30 am and got back up around 6:15 am. We had breakfast at the restaurant in our hotel and it was really good. We got in touch with our friend that works at a foster home and arranged a visit. Our trip to New Day was wonderful! BG made her a friend right off the bat! What a sweetie!

We were able to visit with the children and all of them are so precious. Seeing them was very touching for me. They each wait patiently for a forever family! We also got to see the village near New Day and had lunch with our friend and the children. We were both very blessed to have visited. How wonderful the work they are doing for the orphans of China!

Despite the jet lag it has been a wonderful day. The drive to New Day was about an hour long so it was an interesting drive there and back. Bicycles, trucks, cars all share the road...all merging into traffic and beeping the horn at each other. Whew! Tomorrow we will visit the Great Wall and Hutong. Hopefully we will have time to visit Tianamen Square. BG is so tired this afternoon after our visit to New Day that she is passed out. She has been an angel through it all!

We made it! We are in China!

2009-04-29T03:12:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone,

We finally made it! After a two hour drive to the airport, a two hour flight to Newark, a 13 and a half hour flight to Beijing and a half hour drive to our hotel....WE ARE HERE! First of all, let me say that BG was an angel! I mean an angel! We were so blessed on this trip! When we got ready to board the first plane BG was heading down the portal and JT said "you ready?" and she answered, "let's go get Lili-Kate!" Off she marched like a big girl! On our flight to Beijing, we were with mostly chinese and a few Americans...but right beside us was a woman and her 20 month old little girl. She wanted to play with BG and the mother called BG "sister". The entire trip she called BG "sister". That little chinese princess stole my heart. The people here are very nice and we have a great guide to help answer our hundred questions! Of course we are EXHAUSTED! We are 13 hours ahead of our family at home and trying to stay awake to get on schedule but...I don't know if I am gonna make it! :) I will start posting some pics as soon as I can...

Believe it or not...

2009-04-20T11:02:00.004-05:00

This was too funny to share so...here goes...

When I took the kids to meet my dad on Friday, after dropping them off I opened a fresh pack of my favorite gum, stride. On the inside of the flap was a To Do List...

This just so happens to be the first thing we will do when we get there! Ha!

Getting ready to go...

2009-04-17T09:15:00.004-05:00

We are ready to go! Not physically in the sense I have a ton of packing to do but emotionally ready to go! I took a couple of pics of the girls room. BG and LK will share a room together. We put LK's bed up on New Years and so BG has had time to adjust to the idea that she will soon have a sister in the room with her. Remember she's two...she says to me when she sees LK's picture..."there's LK...she's my sister...she's in China". She knows the best way a two year old can know. It feels like we are being carried...if you can understand what I mean. Have you ever just felt like you were being "carried"?

Can't wait to go to China...can't wait even more to meet my girl!

Confirmed Consulate Appointment!!

2009-04-15T10:04:00.002-05:00

Okay, well we are in full swing now...we have our confirmed consulate appointment for May 11! That means that we will leave Nashville on April 28th and return home with Lili-Kate on May 13! My head is spinning! I am thinking of all the one hundred million things I need to do before I leave. Wow! We will be flying into Beijing and then on to Nanning and finally to Guanghou. If any of you have been there this time of year please fill me in on what to expect with the weather. Any must haves or must dos? Thanks to all of you who have shown your support and prayed for us! Off we go!

We are finally going to China!

2009-04-14T12:52:00.003-05:00

We are excited today to find out that we officially have the fingerprint approval and will have a confirmed consulate appointment in the morning! Yay! That has been one working on my patience! It looks like we will fly out on Tuesday, April 28 and return on Thursday May 14. Of course we will have confirmed travel once we have our confirmed consulate appointment. The realization that it is only two weeks away is overwhelming! I am working hard to finish up all my schoolwork before we leave and I have bought everything for our travel. We desperately need your prayers because we will be taking BG with us. I think it will be wonderful for LK to have her there too! Friends at last! While I was getting ready this morning BG was in the bathroom with me and she asked out of the blue, "where's LK?" And (by faith) I said to her, 'we are about to go on the airplane and get her'. This was before the call that we had the fingerprint approval. Pray for us...our kids...and LK! Much love! *bt*

We are going to China!

2009-04-07T19:21:00.003-05:00

We were very excited to get the news that our fingerprints are approved. We hope to be in China on May 2 however, we still need our approval on paper in our mailbox. The reality of three weeks until we meet our precious LK makes me sooo very excited! I have a few things to get done to get us ready to go. I can hardly believe it is here! Time to figure out how to use skype! Thanks to those of you that have continuously prayed for our fingerprints to get sorted out. It's finally here...yay!
*bt*

2009-03-26T17:16:00.003-05:00

Okay, don't hate me...I went back to Hawaii! JT and I spent five days in Oahu and it was wonderful! Thanks to Aunt E and Nana and Grandaddy for helping out with the kids! It gave us a chance to have some time together...haven't had that since our honeymoon 15 years ago! It was awesome! While we were there, we were able to have JT's prints redone so now we just wait for the approval and our Consulate Appointment and we are off to get our L-K! While we were in Hawaii there were so many Asian families and it really set it on me. We are going to bring our precious angel home very soon! I will keep everybody posted when we know our dates for travel! Love and aloha! *bt*

We have our TA!

2009-03-12T12:28:00.003-05:00

Just got the call from our agency that we have recieved our Travel Approval! That was the final thing we needed to travel. However, because we still don't know the status on JT's fingerprints they cannot make our Consulate Appointment or make any travel arrangements. Please say a prayer for us that we can get these fingerprints found! JT will not be able to update them again until the end of the month if they cannot locate them and that will cause our trip to pick up LK to be pushed out atleast another 4-6 weeks...maybe longer.

TA! It is finally here! Yay!

Still waiting...

2009-03-10T19:41:00.003-05:00

Well yesterday was a month since we recieved our LOA. Our Travel Approval should come within approximately 30 days so I am getting excited...and anxious to hear something. It is amazing to think that we will probably be traveling in about a month to go get our LK. All the waiting, praying, hoping and preparing and we are almost there...that is if they find JT's fingerprints. We have been notified that they don't know exactly what happened to them when we had them redone three weeks ago. So, I am hoping for the absolute best! They will magically show up and off we will go...Pray they find them!

We all made it back safely from Hawaii. Needless to say, it was a very eventful trip. Three with a stomach virus and a two year old on a ten hour flight-wow! Fun though! Just got me ready to make the big trip to China!

It is unfortunate but we have not had any more updates on LK since our LOA. I hear it is not that uncommon for folks to get updates and such but we haven't been so fortunate. I sure wish we knew more about her. I don't even know for sure what size she wears. I guess we will know soon enough. My sister in law gave us a small tricycle so now we have two. Bella knows that it is for Lili...she still points to her bed and says that it's LK's. It is as real to her as it can be for a two year old. It's really sweet! Maybe we will hear something real soon!

We're home

2009-03-05T21:50:00.003-06:00

Well, we made it home after a 16 hour journey from Hawaii. We left there around 6 pm yesterday and arrived in our driveway at 11 am today! Needless to say, I am exhausted, as are the kids! I thought flying all night would be the best route but um...not so sure! No one really slept! Except BG...for about 3.5 hours. We got home, crawled in the bed and I slept so hard that I woke myself up gasping for air. I guess I was too tired to breathe!

Hawaii was beautiful and very eventful! We are glad to be home and back to some normalcy. Saw today that TA's are coming for those with our LOA dates! Bad news...got a call and they have somehow misplaced JT's renewed fingerprints...the ones we drove all the way to Birmingham to get. Not sure what happened there and we are waiting to hear-what now! Can't travel without those. I am dreading that reallllyyyyy longgggg flight to China after this realllly lonogggg flight to Hawaii but I am so anxious and excited about getting to our LK and seeing her and BG together! It is getting so close! Several of the family are having dreams about her!

I will be keeping you posted...*bt*

Hawaiiiiii.....

2009-02-28T22:58:00.003-06:00

We made it to Hawaii on Tuesday late in the afternoon here in Waikiki. It is beautiful, wonderful, heavenly, and WINDY! We have talked to many people that have said that the weather this week is fairly unusual. It is incredibly windy and kinda chilly but ohhhh so wonderful! The second day here my aunt came down with the stomach virus and on day 3 and 4 Jeff has had it! What a fine time for the stomach bug! We have made the most of it any-o-hoo! Today we visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona and that was very emotional. You actually go out over the battleship that has rested on the ocean floor. There lie approximately 900 men that died when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. I was so glad we visited that memorial. It helped me remember the sacrifices that have been made for our country and the ones that are continually made for my freedom as an American.

The kids are having a blast. Here are a few pics...

Still waiting to hear on our TA. Should be hearing something within the next week or two.

Aloha *bt*

Aloha...

2009-02-26T21:43:00.004-06:00

Well we finally made it to Hawaii and so far it has taken me until today to get over the jetlag. It is amazing how you adjust to the time change but yet you don't...for instance, it is 9:45 at home but it is 5:45 pm in Honolulu. It doesn't seem to do it justice to say it's "beautiful" here. There really are no words to describe Hawaii. We left home at 3 am to take our trip to Nashville Airport and our flight left at 6:40 am. We arrived in Hawaii at 7:45 pm (Alabama time). Can somebody say whew? BG did well for a two year old. The others did awesome too. Today we went to the North Shore where the largest waves in the world are. That was the most tranquil place yet the waves were ferocious! The kids are having a blast! My mom and aunt came with me (thank the Lord because hauling four kids through two airports was a trip)! I am trying to stay on top of my studies but it's hard because I want to just loaf all day and lay around in the sun! :)

We are waiting on our Travel Approval from China and hopefully we will see it around the first of March. We are getting very excited over the thoughts of getting our arms around our LK. We have been stopped already two times by visiting chinese families in Hawaii because they want to take pictures with my kids. Apparently they don't see many blonde headed people very often so they love to see it on children. We think it is great! They just smile and say cheese! :)

Got our visas! Need those to get into china. It's really getting close and we are getting excited!

Aloha! *bt*

A Precious Gift

2009-02-16T13:56:00.004-06:00

Today I recieved a most precious gift via UPS. I opened up the box and there was a beautiful white frame that housed a very personal and precious adoption poem for our "LK". My sister in law Pam and her family had it made for her. I became very emotional when I read it and it is something I will cherish forever. I know LK will cherish it also! I just thought I would share it with my "blogger" friends and family! Thank you PW, JW, BW and JW. This means alot to us. *bt*

Fingerprints expired! Oh no!

2009-02-14T07:07:00.003-06:00

We found out this week that our fingerprints expired. They have to be done and current before you can travel out of the country. I panicked! I am suppose to be watching our expiration dates on everything...our homestudy, CIS approval and fingerprints...but I let them expire!!! On the phone I go to the agency I need an appointment with to update fingerprints. JT's travel only gives us a three day window to get them redone or our travel will get pushed out to a later time. I call...I email...praying for someone to get my messages...and yesterday they called me with an appointment!!!!An appointment within my three day window!!!!! That was a miracle. I was so excited that our travel will still be as soon as possible to go get our LK! It looks like the TA's are coming in approximately four weeks from LOA so I expect to hear something around March 9th. Of course that is just estimated according to when others are seeing theirs. After TA we should travel within the following next couple of weeks. This is exciting!!! :)

Happy Valentine's Day! *bt*

LOA came today!

2009-02-09T13:51:00.003-06:00

Well we are definitely excited now! Our agency called today and we have recieved our LOA (letter of acceptance). That is our official "she's ours now"! It looks like we should travel around the end of March! With it being 80 days since we seen her face the first time we have been so anxious to go get her. I spent all of last week "nesting", getting her clothes washed and her things ready for her. I knew it was getting close...just had that mother's intuition I guess. Please pray for us as we have decided to take BG with us when we go. We think it will be good for her and LK. I will update when we get more good news! The next thing we wait for is our TA (Travel Approval) and that is our invitation to pick her up. That should arrive within 2-4 weeks. Thanks to all of you that are praying for us and LK as we make this transition in our family! Much love!*bt*

Funny stories

2009-01-06T20:40:00.003-06:00

I always love to keep note of the funny lil things our kids do. We got the kids a kitten for Christmas and home we came with the litter box. Once we explained to BG ,our two year old, that the litter box is where the kitty goes potty, she understood. Well, she came up missing and when JT went to looking for her he found BG over the litter box. When he asked what she was doing she said she go "pee pee in the potty too". We laughed hysterically. I guess she didn't realize that what works for the kitty cat does NOT work for the baby!

countup

2008-12-29T17:53:00.001-06:00

Myspace Countups, Girly Countups at WishAFriend.com

Merry Christmas...Happy Birthday!

2008-12-24T23:07:00.004-06:00

Well today was an awesome day! One, to see my children's eyes light up on Christmas is just so memorable and precious. Our day was filled with time with friends and family, and I can say it was wonderful! This Christmas BG is much older and she was so fascinated by all the wonder of Christmas. Together with our kids, we laughed together, prayed together, and celebrated another Christmas Eve filled with memories and joy. I feel so blessed, so honored to be able to love these kids, to raise them, to be a part of their special lives. God has truly been good to me. I know that!

On a sadder note though my heart ached for our precious LK who celebrated her second birthday today! I found my thoughts wander toward her often today and said prayers for her. I will tell her one day that when we seemed worlds apart we prayed for her...loved her...and longed for her. Happy Birthday sweet girl! We hope to hold you real soon!

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! May God who holds the very world in his hands keep watch over my babies tonight!

Someone's birthday is coming....

2008-12-17T11:17:00.003-06:00

Sent our care package today!

2008-12-08T16:40:00.003-06:00

Well our adoption agency said we could send a care package to our baby girl so off I went...shopping for just the right things...and once I got what I thought I wanted I wondered if she would like them. I have always heard that all kids love stacking cups and links and every baby needs a stuffed animal for sleepytime. I found this cozy little blanket and filled her "who loves baby" album with pictures of her soon new family. I almost hit the floor when I saw what it costs to ship to China...but oh, it is all worth it for her. I hope she gets her things and loves them all. I hope she senses we already love her and are thinking about her...every minute...every day. So much so that it is hard to get anything else done. Seriously, it's bad!

Her birthday is coming up on Christmas Eve and the lady at the Fedex place said it should arrive there in just a few days...in enough time to make it there for her big 2nd birthday! :) Waiting on that LOA is worse than waiting on the call for a match. One thing is for sure though...in just a few months we will be holding our little one.

BG saw her picture today and she said, "there's LK". I said, "yeah and soon she will be here and you can be friends, and play, and she can sleep in your room with you...". BG said, "yeah and we can play drums and sing too!" I thought that was funny. She is already getting the idea!

We have our pre-approval!

2008-12-01T16:00:00.003-06:00

Well we got some more good news this morning. We sent our LOI on November 22 and this morning, Lifeline called and said that we have our pre-approval from China. Now we wait on our LOA, that is our Letter of Acceptance to adopt LK. We should receive that within the next 60-90 days. Good news... I just love good news! :)

We spent our Thanksgiving with JT's family. We had such a great time. During our trip we attended a family reunion and this picture was taken at the farm house. When I was looking at the picture I thought..."there's a spot right between AE and BG for LK". :) She will be with us soon!

Thanks to all of you that have been sending sweet notes through the blog. Many of you I have not formally met, but are already such an incredible encouragement to me. I have spent much time reading your blogs and it helps so much to have someone to follow that has gone before...and are going through alongside me....

From our family to yours...we wish you a Merry Christmas and will continue to keep you posted! Luvs!

It's a princess!

2008-11-27T16:07:00.005-06:00

I just had to share this because it was so sweet. You never know how your children are going to respond to things...

Yesterday I walked BG to the refrigerator where I showed her LK's picture. I said to her, "Do you know who that is?" She said, "I not know who that is." I said, "it's LK, your new sister. Like Sissy's your sister and A is your sister, this is your sister." She started smiling and looked at me and said, "It's a princess". The rest of the day and into the night she would see the pic of LK on my phone and she would say, "It's LK. It's a princess." Now whenever she sees her picture she recognizes her. I think the two of them will be awesome together, don't you? :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Waiting Child: An Adoption Poem

2008-11-26T11:33:00.002-06:00

I was visiting a friend's blog when I came across this poem. I hope that she didn't mind that I put it on mine. It moved me deeply and I wanted to share it! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

The Waiting Child: An Adoption Poem
By Debbie Bodie

I saw you meet your child today
You kissed your baby joyfully
And as you walked away with him
I played pretend you'd chosen me.

I'm happy for the baby, yet
Inside I'm aching miserably
I want to plead as you go by,
"Does no-one want a child of three?"

I saw you meet your child today
In love with her before you met
And as I watched you take her out
I knew it wasn't my turn yet!

I recognize you from last year!
I knew I'd seen your face before!
But you came for a second babe.
Does no-one want a child of four?

I saw you meet your child today
But this time there was something new
A nurse came in and took MY hand
And then she gave my hand to you.

Can this be true? I'm almost six!
And there are infants here, you see?
But then you kissed me and I knew
The child you picked this time was me.
Copyright 1997

How do we stand the wait?

2008-11-24T12:33:00.003-06:00

For those of you that are reading this that has already been through the adoption process, you know exactly what I mean when I say, "How do we stand the wait?" Now that we know who she is, it is harder than ever before to wait. The good news is though, that it will be shorter and certain! That is the good part. We know we should travel within the next few months and that is awesome but....why the wait? Everything is done electronically and it still takes an eternity to get there. Oh well...my social worker said, "just shop and prepare" and that's what I intend on doing. We are going to put up her bed and get her things all washed up and ready for her after Thanksgiving so no matter when she comes home, we'll be ready for her.

Friday is such a blur. Gettting that call that I have waited on for so long was surreal. I had a lot of irons in the fire trying to get ready for HT's surprise 13th birthday party and I was having the hardest time focusing on the task at hand. I think I talked my mom into a trance that day! God love her! I was so excited I could barely stand myself! She could probably barely stand me either! :) Both her and my Aunt L were here helping out with the party and I don't know what I would have done without them. They were a heaven send that day!

Haley's birthday bash was a success and she was so blessed by all of her friends that came. She is so grown up and at 13, such a wonderful blessing to her daddy and me. I am including a picture of that night for you to see...

So far we have been so blessed by everyone around us. Thank you all for your love and support as we journey through this process of bringing little LK home.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving! I know we will. We have alot to be thankful for this year!

We have a referral!

2008-11-22T09:07:00.002-06:00

I have always heard that the closer to time in getting a referral you will begin to see lots of ladybugs. We have had a influx of them in only one room of our house for 2 weeks now. Everywhere I turn, they are everywhere. I am a believer that God sends "breadcrumbs" and we've been getting them for weeks now.

I woke up at 4 am and just had a knowing inside that we were going to get some news...

Yesterday at 11 am I got a call on my cell phone from our agency. They said they had a baby girl who will be 2 on Christmas Eve. Of course we immediately fell in love. She has a mild heart condition that will have to be checked out when we return home. We quickly accepted the referral and now we just wait for approximately 3-4 months to get our letter of acceptance from China and we travel! Yeaaaa!

We desperately want to take our children with us so please pray that these details will get sorted out. They want to go and meet their new baby sister "Lili-Kate". We are so excited! She's a beauty! We already love her!

True Love Waits

2008-11-21T09:13:00.001-06:00

Last night we gave HT her "True Love Waits" ring she asked for for her 13th birthday. It was really sweet. JT put it on her and we promised to help her walk upright before the Lord and to help her as she chooses purity. We are so proud of her! Happy 13th Birthday sweet girl!

Make me proud

2008-11-13T18:38:00.000-06:00

These precious kids have made life wonderful for us. Sometimes I am overwhelmed when I look at them. Each of them so unique and so perfect in their own way. What is our newest one going to add to this family?

When we were doing our homestudy the social worker asked the kids what they would think about having a new sister, her being from another country...and Jeremiah answered and said, "I hope she will like us". They truly are treasures...and they make our life full!

Our wait continues...

2008-10-27T12:55:00.002-05:00

We haven't blogged since February of this year. But since then, we have moved to another city so alot has changed for our family. H has started the 7th grade. JJ is in the 5th and A is in the 3rd grade. BG had her second birthday in July and she keeps us hopping. But things have been quiet on the adoption. It has been a year and a half since we started our process but I am hopeful. We could get a call at any time with the news that we have been matched. Adopting is by far, way harder than having a natural birth. The natural birthing process is a sure thing...in approximately nine months, you will have yourself a baby. Adoption on the other hand, is frustrating and definitely burns patience into you. I have the comfort though, that God is good and He knows just the right time to bring that baby into our family. I trust Him with her. I will continue to blog as I hear something. But for now, we continue to wait...

Happy Anniversary baby...got you on my mind...

2008-02-12T14:15:00.000-06:00

Today is our 14th anniversary! At 4 p.m. marks the time I said "I do" to the man that I love. Little did I know that my mind would not be able to wrap itself around 14 years later and the love I have for this man. What an incredible blessing he has been to me and our four children. Not only has Jeff been an incredible husband with the utmost character and integrity, he has also been a wonderful father! I feel honored that God blessed me with such a wonderful soulmate! Happy Anniversary baby! I didn't think it was possible at the time but I love you way more today than I did the day I married you!

Tagg I'm It!

2008-02-06T10:44:00.001-06:00

I know this is not an adoption post and I usually don't do this stuff but this was fun so I decided to post it. Haley tagged me so here it is!

Since you've been 'tagged', you have to write a blog of 7 things you are passionate about, 7 things you say all the time, 7 things you want to do before you die and 3 things people may not know about you (it can be weird too). At the end choose your people to be tagged. Don't forget to leave them a comment to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you, since you can't tag me back - let me know when you've posted your blog or sent your email so I can see your answers.

7 things I'm passionate about:
1) Jesus
2) Adoption
3) My family and it's a long list
4) College
5) Mexican Food
6) Knowing God's will
7) The beach

7 things I say all the time:
1)Blame
2)What the heck...(probably not the best choice of words)
3)Get out of my bathroom
4)Haley, where's my...(depends on what she had last)
5)Bella, get down!(she's my climber)
6)Turn down the tv
7)...this list could get long....

7 things I want to do before I die:
1) Get my college degree including my master's
2)Learn to paint and play drums
3)Live in Hawaii
4)Travel to France & Italy with Jeff
5)See my kids grow up
6)Meet my Grandkids
7)Do medical missions

3 things you may not know about me:
1) I only wanted one child when I was young (that changed!)
2) I was a mime
3)I hate to make coffee but love to drink it

My people to tag:
1) Pam
2)Tammy C.
3)Miranda
4)Mom
5)Tracy
6)Becky
7) Suzanne

Our Family

2008-02-05T13:51:00.001-06:00

2008-02-05T12:45:00.000-06:00

The wait for our newly adopted little one gets hard at times. When you are destined to adopt I believe that God puts into your heart a hole that can only be filled by that one little one so far away. I can't wait until Isabella has her sister here to play with and love. They will be close and even though they are miles apart-oceans apart-they are sisters at heart!

I got ready to go out shopping and when I was leaving Bella came around the corner. She was ready to go too! Here is a funny pic of that day. I will keep you posted on details as I recieve them. Since I am new to blogging it may take me a while to figure it all out.

Our dossier made it to China

2008-02-01T16:01:00.001-06:00

Our dossier has officially arrived in China today! Unfortunately the special needs list is not coming out this month and so we expect to hear something again in April. We continue to wait...

Since some of you viewing this might be interested I am posting some other things going on with our family. Haley got on Homecoming Court for the sixth grade group at Meridianville Middle. She was voted on by her peers for this and we were very proud of her. Here is a picture of her on that night. She's seems so grown up and she's only 12!