JOY..TRUE JOY

This girl has known the depths of deep despair in her little life.

She has known deep hurt, abandonment, sorrow, and grief that I can only imagine.

 That makes it all the more miraculous that she has such exuberant joy.

 Joy that comes when she is playing in the leaves taking it slow with her momma.

 Joy that comes from picking up a leaf and shaking it in her hand.

 Joy that comes from sitting a spell to throw leaves by the handful at momma.

 Joy from enjoying the simple things that so many of us have taken for granted.

 She has a joy so big that it takes my breath away to watch her.

How I love this treasure!

How I savor each and every moment!

I wish I could just freeze time and drink in her joy just a bit longer because these days of fall will be gone all too soon.

She is growing up way too fast, but today I will choose to take life slow and soak in her joy as long as I can.

T-Shirts Are Ready to Order

 CHECK OUT ALL 6 COLORS TO THE RIGHT!

Shirts are $20.00 shipped.

You can order on the right using Paypal.

Shirts are available in sizes Youth S-XL and Adult S-XL.

Shirts will be delivered in time for Christmas.

If you're local, contact me directly at slmaster16@hotmail.com to avoid shipping.  Do not use paypal to order.  Sean will have order forms available too.  Thank you for helping us get our next little girl home.

We've Seen Anna Mei

We said yes to a sweet special focus toddler yesterday.

Her Chinese name is Jia Ren.

(Ren was in Jillian's Chinese name so we were sure she was meant to be ours.)

Our wait to see Anna Mei's face is over.

We can't share her picture for a few more weeks.

Trust us..she is beautiful.

She is 21 months old.

She is living in Xuchang City in Henan province.

 Jillian just wants to be sure that everyone knows..

she is still the top dog.



 Frankly, she is growing a bit bored of holding this sign

and being a big sis already. 

After all, it is almost bedtime.

Not getting much sleep here though as we are soooo excited to get this little lady home.

It will likely be about 7-8 more months though until we travel..maybe sooner if God sees fit.

Until she's here, we are rejoicing that God has set her apart for us.

Another girl is coming to our house.

WOOHOOO!



So Much More Than a Special Need

Dear Jillian,
As I lay today next to you snuggling your frame against mine, I have so much in my mind.  If 17 months ago, I could have known what lay ahead of me as your mother I may not have had the courage to keep walking.  Loving you now so intensely, I know that if I had let fear scare me away from you I would have missed one of the greatest blessings of  my life.  You are so much more than a label or a list of special needs..you are so much, much more than an assessment of all you can't or will never do..YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER, MY LOVE, MY TREASURE made just by God exactly the way you are so that your life might bring glory to Him who made you.  This week, you have signed "I love you" to me for the first time.  You love, you have joy, you are learning, and you continue to bless me beyond measure.  Yet, as I think of the future there are times that I am scared.  Scared of what is to come, but it is in these times that I remember how faithful God has been in our lives.  I remember how He has walked ahead of us every step of the way and how He continues to meet our every need.  I love you with all that I have because Christ first loved me.  I praise Him for making you and blessing me with the gift of you. 
Momma

On The Farm

I love fall.

Pumpkins.

Mums.

Cool weather.

Sweaters.

And visits to the pumpkin farm.

Unfortuantly, the little treasure was pretty stressed out around all those very strange orange things.

I couldn't give up so easily though.

Eventually, I got her to laugh.



Mostly, she just likes to stick with what makes her most comfortable.



But a momma's gotta try. Right?

Try I did, but she left the farm in a jumbled, screaming mess.

She fell into a pile of those scary, colored bumpy gourds and pumpkins

AND

it definitly pushed her over the edge.

Poor thing!

Maybe next year, we will enjoy the farm.

Then again, next year-there will be two.

Now I Have Her Trapped

What do you do when you are home alone with a

rambunctious, Chinese toddler and you really, really need to get dinner cooking?

 

Why, you trap her in a giant bin of packing noodles of course.

 This plan works great as she is laughing and

rolling in the noodles for a few, short moments.

 Then, it happens.

She takes a hand full of them and

decides it would be oh. so. very. much. fun

to pelt momma with said packing noodles while she is cooking!

This game made her very happy and

she even had to include her big sister in the fun.

Not sure why in the world God thinks I deserve such goodness..

But having these girls playing at my feet in the kitchen is

SO. VERY. GOOD!

Being a mother to these two precious blessings..

It is reason to praise God today!

Calling All Adoptive Families

I am working on a super cool t-shirt design to raise money for our Annamae's adoption.  The front is WONDERFUL thanks to my designer.

(It says Another 1 home in black and God sets the lonely in families in white.)

BUT..

The back is where I need families of adopted treasures to help.  I would love to have a list of children's names to include on the back.  Names of precious treasures who, by God's grace, have been set in a family.  If you submit your adopted child's name, it will be listed on the back with all the others.  The shirt will make a great personalized gift just in time for Christmas too.  I will have ordering information up next week, but for now-SEND ME THOSE NAMES. 

I would like your children's first and middle names please.  You can leave them in the commments or you can email me at slmaster16@hotmail.com .  I want the back of that shirt to be filled with names so that people might see the "faces" of our children and rejoice that another 1 is indeed coming home. 

Thanks so much for your help!  This is a special project for me as we also did a t-shirt with children listed to help get Jillian home. 

Hiking with Our Treasure

 We decided to hit the trails today since everyone was home for the day.
This is the first time since Jillian has come home that we have gone hiking.

The sun was shining, the leaves were turning, and

Emily agreed to pose for one picture.

 It was so nice to have everyone together today.

 Our Jillian is definitely a nature fan.

This is her running dragging her Daddy at full speed through the grass.

Her laugh kept all the wild animals in hiding as they ran.

It could be heard for miles.

 She loved exploring the tall plants.

 She couldn't get enough of throwing the leaves.

But when we came around the bend to find a creek,

she let out a huge shriek of glee.

It was cold.

She didn't care.

 We let her wade a few minutes and she was thrilled.

 At first, she held on to Daddy.

 Then, she broke loose and enjoyed squishing those toes in the mud.

She was a HUGE fan of the creek.

I have a feeling we may be spending lots of time there next summer.

However...

She was not a fan of getting out to continue the hike.

She was really mad about leaving that spot.

 She did recover and was enjoying exploring

nature again

with her Sissy on one side and her Daddy on the other.

 It was a beautiful morning with lots to explore.

She took full advantage of the time.

She must have touched every tree we hiked by.

Mostly, we just stepped back and watched her taking it in.

She is so very cute and we are so very lucky she is ours.



Another Obstacle Overcome

She's putting that toothbrush in her mouth.  We have been working for 15 months to desensitize that oral cavity and little by little she is letting me in.  She fussed a bit at first when I tried introducing this into her routine, but nothing like the meltdowns that she had when I initially tried to do it months ago.  She even avoided taking a bath, which is her favorite activity of the day, for a time because she knew we would be getting this brush out.  I felt like the fussing was just that though-normal fussing and so I persisted.  I pushed her a bit more each night...

AND 

now she is putting that toothbrush in her mouth all by herself!

This is huge!  She is making tremendous gains.  She is communicating by using more and more signs each day too.  I will update that next because it is blowing me away! 

I am so blessed to have this little as mine.  There are still so many days that I am overwhelmed that God allowed me to be a small part of the miracle of who she is and what she will become.  Can't wait to have her little sister home and next to her. 

Her First Photo Shoot

We had a gift certificate for photos from a dear friend.

We have had it since bringing our treasure home, but I never thought she would be able to handle a photo shoot.  A new place, sitting on foreign objects in front of strange backgrounds, and trying to get her to smile seemed like inviting a meltdown and so I have never attempted to do the photo shoot.

Never tried until today..

My word friends, this momma just cried through the whole thing.

She rocked this place like the star she is and you would have never known how hard this last fifteen months has been for her if you were just happening by and saw her.

 She smiled.

 She laughed.

 She held the strange props the photographer gave to her.

 She screamed with delight while momma jumped around like a monkey.

 She LOVED the flashing lights.

She took a little time to hula hoop.

She made some silly faces.

 And then she made some more.

 She stole the show with her sweetness.

 And she left this momma saying MIRACLE under her breath as we were leaving.

Today the words of the official in her country were ringing in my ears.

I wish they could see our treasure now.

She is growing more and more into the little lady God intends her to be.

With an overflowing heart, I was praising God all the way home.



Her First Happy Meal

After seventeen months home...

She can finally eat a happy meal.

I chopped up that cheeseburger

and

she went to town!

We have come a long way baby.

(I had to laugh at the teenager who actually asked if I was going to get a picture of this.)

Dear Annamae,
I just want you to know today that I think about you each and every day.  I am feeling that soon, we will see a picture of your sweet face and then the dream of you will be a reality in my mind's eye.  I thought that being so busy with your sister Jillian would make the waiting easier, but it has not.  I miss you like crazy.  I long to hold you in my arms today.  I want to see you smile, to hear your laugh, and to see you sitting next to us at the dinner table.  Above all, I so want to know that you are loved and cared for as you wait for us.  Soon enough, I will hold you and you will know that I am your momma.  I will love you with a Godly love because Christ first loved me.  I will teach you to pray, to rely on God's Word, and I will sing to you in my off tone voice while you giggle.  I can't wait to have you home dear one.  I can't wait to tell you the story of how God led us to you and to watch you blossom as you learn to live in the love of a family.

With all my heart I love you,
Momma

Giddy

I just opened my email to find that our papers are finished at the consulate and they are on their way back to us.  Giddy with excitement!  The papers are done a whole three days earlier than expected.  This means that on Monday, we can overnight them to our agency and then they will begin to prepare them for Ch*na.  We are so. very. close to being DTC (dossier to China) and I feel like we will see her face very. very. soon!  We also had a deposit to our savings account today that came from my IRA which means that we have enough money to pay the next two payments.  God has been so faithful in providing for us to bring home our Annamae and we are nearly three quarters of the way there.  On the scary side, this IRA is the last bit of money that we have access to bring her home on our own and so fundraising has to begin for the last $15,000- $20,000, but God has been so faithful.  We are working on our end coming up with some great plans for a dinner, an in home shopping event, and we have booked two church bazaars to sell Heavenly Dip mixes at so I know God's got this.  We are also waiting on word from LifeSong for orphans about a matching grant.  Would you pray with us as we trust God over the next few months to provide all we need to get us to our Annamae?  I still can't believe we are getting so close to seeing her face.  SO SO GOOD!

See-Saw Fun

I was thrilled when I found this super cool see-saw at a garage sale yesterday!

It is the best $7 I have ever spent.

Our little treasure LOVES it.

It's a little bit hard on the momma though.

I was singing, taking the video, and pushing her up and down.

The giggles are worth the effort on my part.

PS Can't you just see two Ch*nese treasures playing on this in our backyard?

I simply can't wait!

The School Carnival

Did you read the title of this post?

The School Carnival also know as..

the overcrowded, very stimulating event

that takes place at FBCS to culminate Homecoming Week.

Yep, that's the one!

My Jillian was there.

She was there!

 She played in the threw the sand.

I stopped her, but not before some landed on the nice young man running this game.

 She picked up a duck splashed in the water while momma picked up a duck.

She even picked up that fishing pole, but didn't wait long enough to see what she caught.

Seriously, she was amazing.

I am so thrilled that we are able to be out and about a bit more.

She is so much more secure!

She is even able to enjoy herself a bit.

She saw the bouncy house and while she really

..REALLY wants to go inside...

she just can't let herself do it.

Soon, very soon, we will not be able to get her out of those things.

Until then, this is one blessed momma who enjoyed a normal, ordinary night with her little girl.

On His Way

My DH left the house before the sun was up to get our precious dossier documents to Springfield.  They will be certified there today by the Secretary of State.  We had to wait a few days so that our agency could take one more look through the papers to make sure they were just right.  While I hated waiting the two extra days, it was good to hear...they are perfect and you are done!  These words are music to an adoptive momma's ears.

After DH returns with them today, I will head to the USPS to get them to the courier service so that they can be taken to the consulate in Chicago.  I really wanted to do this step myself as the courier service adds a couple of days, but I just can't take a whole day away from the house this week.  It isn't best for anyone when momma is gone for a whole day and with all that Em has to do..it just couldn't work.  So we will send it to the courier and WAIT!  I am not good at waiting one bit!  But I understand full well that this adoption will be done in the Lord's time and while that may not match up with mine..it is for the best!  Holding on to some encouragement from the word today while I wait..

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14

It's Here!!!

IT'S HERE!

OUR I-800 IS HERE!

Here's what happens next...
1.We get it copied and notarized.
2. We head to Springfield to get all our dossier docs certified by the Secretary of State.
3.  We take those same docs to get authenticated by the Ch*nese Consulate in Chicago.
4. THEN..we will be DTC! (Dossier to China right after it makes a week stop at our agency for translation and binding.)

We should see her face soon!  Oh this momma can't wait for our referral.  I remember thinking last time when adopting Jillian that if I could just see her face, waiting would be so much easier.  I was wrong about that because after seeing our Jillian it made me miss her so much more, but it doesn't make me want to see Anna any less.  I have been dreaming of her, but I haven't had a clear picture of her face.  I am praying that it is soon!

Still Waiting

I wish I had something eloquent to say.  Something profound to share, but today..this week we are just waiting.  Sometimes it is in the mist of waiting that God teaches you the most.  He hasn't revealed it to me yet, but someday near the end of this journey to our Annamae I may get the knowledge of that and understand His timing.  I felt yesterday like when things begin to happen..they are going to happen fast.  I feel like we will see her face soon..like our referral is waiting and in the weeks to come she will be revealed to us.  I was like a ping pong ball yesterday-waiting with JOY at times, tears others, and worrying about all that is to come and the money that is due in the weeks ahead. 

Leaving the checking of the mailbox up to DH today, because I am off to work.  (I love my new teaching gig, but that is a post for another day.)  I know that the piece of paper we are waiting on was mailed on Monday because I called the black hole at USCIS yesterday.  Praying it comes!  We have had more than one piece of paper lost by the dear USPS along the way.  Maybe today is the day!

Waiting On Our Last Piece of Paper

Only one piece of paper is stopping our dossier from being sent to China. 
We are waiting on our I797 approval from the US government. 
It has been two weeks already since our fingerprint appointment with the Dept of Immigration. 
I am praying that this notice will arrive this week and our dossier will be on its way! 
I am definitly not better at waiting this time around. 
I WANT ANNA HOME!

Here's to hoping the mailman has it in his hot, little hands today!

Marigold Festival Day 2

Blessed by this baby!

Truly blessed beyond measure to call her mine!

 We enjoyed another great day at the park.

With all the toy options at the park, what could be making her smile so much?

 Why a ball of aluminum foil thrown into the air by her friend J of course.

 Look at it go!

That was a pretty funny trick watching it fly high into the air.

 Then we met up with another sweet friend at the community worship service.

My baby girl is engrossed in the music as usual.

She loves her some worship!

 It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed worship so much!

We ended our day with lunch again.

I would type all that I ate today, but it is quite embarrassing!

It was another delicious day for the record books indeed.

Big sissy just came home from the festival saying we would have to wait a whole year to eat this food again!

Yes, sweet big sister we will and it is a good thing because momma would weigh a hundred pounds more than she does if Marigold happened more than that!

Hope you had a blessed weekend too.