Part of the Family

We have acutally had a few people request another update, so here it is. However, this should be seen only as a weening post. ( : I'll try to remember to update here in 6 months and a year.

More and more Josie is fitting in to the family and we are also merging. She is more smiles than screams now. She loves to race her thumb to her mouth at bedtime before Mommy can get her kissed and laughs hysterically when she has her thumb subsequently plucked from her mouth. This is our nightly ritual. But then, so is her throwing her little China girl doll on the floor as soon as I shut the door! She is also realizing Mommy is more stubborn than Josie and is making some better choices because of it. She is enjoying farm animal books and makes the sounds along with us. Michael can "read" these books to her too. She still dislikes her exercises but is improving in her range of motion because of them. We visit a specialist medical team in August and plan to start the re-do of the immunizations as well as the blood work and TB test then. We hope she will be able to visit her Nanjing buddies (Abby and Rylan) in the future. Actually Chris and I want to stay in contact with our traveling partners too and enjoy hearing about how they are doing.

Air Guitar Josie

Oh, the fun we will have!

WOW!

Saturday Chris and I received a response from Shaohannah's Hope (Steven and Mary Beth Chapman's adoption facilitation non-profit). We were shocked and elated to read we are recipients of a grant for the adoption!!! I wanted to just share it here (even though I didn't plan to add to this site) mainly because I want to say, "God was gracious, even though I was pouty." I am so grateful for the help and so...I don't know the word for the emotion! I am glad God saw fit to give it to us even though He didn't have to. It is a reminder that He knows my heart and loves me anyway. He gives like a parent more concerned with the daughter's character and faith that the gift itself. I had been disturbed that trying to be wise financially resulted in less help than if we'd gotten into debt. At the same time, I was grateful for what we had. So those two thoughts battled in my mind. And then He does this.

Two Week Update

She knows she's cute! And she's starting to realize she's loved. We are seeing loads of smiles, getting lots of sweet kisses, and she's beginning to be comfortable being held and cuddled. In fact, she is now willingly making the choice to calm down in our arms (rather than raging against being held against her will) and making long eye contact and smiling after she calms!! This is a huge blessing and something we have been praying for. (Resisting or disliking being held is one of the signs of a lack of attachment and she definately struggled here.) I cannot tell you how thrilled I am! We received an attachment checklist from our agency and I was encouraged to see the progress from our first days home to today. She is quite responsive to us and is becoming more so every day.

She is also giving and receiving love from her big sister and even starting to from her big brother (when he's not taking her toys). We went to lunch today with THREE of her grandmas and her grandpa and she actually said, "done" when I told her she didn't have to keep eating. Wow, saying no to food is a big one! She no longer displays fear of T-Rex and she cries only seconds when put to bed. My feelings of attachment are much stronger now that I am well, and amazingly, those sessions of holding her through her rage and anger and sweat and tears has drawn her much closer to my heart. I found myself uttering promises to her I couldn't have said two weeks ago.

Yesterday a visitor commented her husband decided against trying to adopt out of the foster system. He was concerned (and with good reason) of what a damaged 2 or 3 year old would be like, the chaos it would create in the family, and whether he would be able to love a child like that in comparison to his bio children. I know I cannot speak to loving a bio child. And adjustments of all kinds are difficult. But, oh, how I wish they would do it. Tears well just thinking about it. The risk IS huge. But the thought of the unknown is worse than the reality...especially the reality after adjustment! There is such a need. No child deserves to be brought up without a family. We've often said if everyone who thought about it did it, we wouldn't have an orphan crisis in our world. Josie just gave me a high five for that line! But we've convinced no one. I would so love to know that this blog of our experience helped an orphan to find family or encouraged someone to support a family trying to adopt. 5.5 million in Africa. 3.5 million in Asia. 1.5 million in Eastern Europe. 400,000 in Latin America. 135,000 in the US.

Thank you for walking through this with us. We have needed your support over these last three years. This chapter is closing. But stay tuned, we hope there will be more to come. Michael still wants that little brother. And when asked if they would rather have help paying for college or bring another little one home from an orphanage, our kids show big hearts. (Okay, and a good measure of ignorance!) Laura F., I don't now about the "100 children legend", but if God provides a way....Let's just say the emboidered picture you brought us from China is on our living room wall as a reminder. We are thinking of Ethiopia. But that would be impossible; another international adoption; no way could we do that. Wait, didn't we say that before?

"But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;

You consider it to take it in hand.

The victim commits himself to you;

you are the helper of the fatherless."

Psalm 10:14

What a Difference a Family Makes!

J ust two weeks,
O h how far she's come!
S ee her pet the dog?
I magine the difference a family makes.
E ncouraging, isn't it?

(Ready to see it for yourself? Visit familylife.com and click on "hope for orphans" or do an internet search for "waiting children and adoption." Or, if you can't, please find a family who is trying and help them make it a reality!)

Our "blue couch photos"

Yeah!