So Very Thankful..

This Thanksgiving, I am so very thankful for this beautiful six (almost seven) year old girl who has been home with us for four and half years.  The progress that we have seen her make in the last few months has been beyond anything we could have hoped for in those first months home when she was so isolated and broken.  God continues to restore her bit by bit.

He continues to put people in her life to love her, build her up, and push her to be all she can be.  She sat at the table this very weekend next to her sisters and played a game that I  made out of cups, pipe

cleaners, and beads.  She willingly came to the table, signed work, and played for several rounds.  This momma couldn't hold back the tears to see her interacting with her siblings.  She put pipe cleaner feathers in her turkey, rolled a dice, used her nova chat to name the number she rolled, and put that amount of beads on her feather all to complete her turn in the game.  She even seemed to keep "getting" six as if she understood that she could win if she rolled six.

He continues to use her in our lives to teach us so much.  She can now smile for a photograph.  When you say smile, she looks at the camera and smiles.  To this momma, her smile is priceless.  She loves so big, and, because I fought so hard and prayed so much for her heart to receive me, there is nothing like her signing "I love you".  Oh, this girl can reduce me to tears in no time flat when she is loving her family.

He has shown us the value in the smallest accomplishments

as she faces so many challenges.  We watch her living out life when it seemed she would be trapped in her own world forever and are so very blessed that she is our baby girl.  She is sitting at the table regularly playing playdough right along side her sisters.  AND...At nearly six now, she has potty trained.  WAHOOOOOO!!!  It has been so easy as she was ready to do it!

She continues to fill our home with much joy!  We love, love, love her and are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter.

Before the Snow..

Before this week's snow fall, we have enjoyed absolutely beautiful fall weather.  The girls and I have been living outside and enjoying every minute as I knew it couldn't last.  Raking, (or more like jumping in and throwing), leaves is a favored activity in these parts.  It is so good to have helpers with such adorable smiles and giggles.  How I love these faces to bits.  Spending time with them brings me such immeasurable joy!

I can't imagine raking leaves without these three.  I can't imagine not having them calling momma, throwing big handfuls, and giggling.  God is good to give me so very much!

The First Snow

 This girl came running out of her room this morning at 7:20.  Usually, Jillian opens her door without getting out of bed, and waits for her daddy to deliver her breakfast to her in her room so to see her running out of her room so early was such a surprise.  She was ready to get out in the snow!  She woke right up, ran to her window to see, then bounded out to me requesting to go out to play!  She didn't even eat before her play session.

 This one was right behind her.  Going down the snow covered slide and dragging all the snow with your bumm to the bottom always makes you giggle.  Anna thought it was hilarious!

 Swing me in the snow.  Please?

 It is hard to be cranky about the snow with such enthusiasm from my little ones.  I spent the whole morning dressing and undressing so they could be outside playing!  I am relieved I got out all the boots, hats, pants, gloves, and coats last weekend when I saw snow in the forecast as there was no keeping them inside!

 Life is so sweet with these beauties around.  The temps weren't too cold so we enjoyed being out for short periods several times today.

 After about three rounds without Molly, she decided to come out too.  This is the first time she has seen snow with us.  Her province is in southern China so it is possible that she hasn't ever seen it.  She was very puffy in her snow suit, and not so sure she wanted to walk in the mysterious, cold stuff at first.

 Anna was beside her, and doing her best to show her the fun!

 Emily retrieved our sled for us, and Molly Kate loved it!

Listen to her giggles....

 She did take a spill, and I had to snap a picture of her wrestling herself up before helping her.  She was too cute!

This baby is quite pleased with her first experience which is good because this is only the beginning sweet one.  We have many, many more snow filled days ahead of us here in the Midwest.  Welcome to Winter Baby Girl!  We are glad you like it!

Hearing Aids Here We Come..

 As we have systematically evaluated all of Molly Kate's body systems under the guidance of our genetics team, (whom called themselves the medical detectives the first day I met them), we hadn't come across anything out of the ordinary.  For the last five months, we have spent many, many hours in various medical offices and hospitals getting everything from blood drawn to an EEG.  It has been exhausting, but necessary as radial dysplasia is associated with many other medical conditions.  I knew this full well when bringing this babe home, and so far all has come back absolutely ordinary until this last week.  

We had our audiological evaluation.  It was scheduled last.  So after a long three hour appointment with OT and PT, we descended the stairs of the building to head to the first floor office.  My Molly Kate's language is coming along very slowly.  She is already seeing a speech therapist from the area association a couple times a month because of it.  I thought something must be off because her language just hasn't been coming the way her other skills have been.  I suspected she may not be hearing me all the time, but sitting in that booth hearing all the sounds she wasn't was astounding.  She has a moderate hearing loss that is borderline severe in some tones.  Despite this, she is picking up some language though her articulation is a bit off.  She is following directions though it is probably more about watching and modeling previous situations and not understanding language.  She is bright, so very bright, and I can't wait to get her hearing aids in place so that she can begin to experience all that this world has for her to listen to. 

Initially, we were told it could be four months before we would be able to get in to schedule her sedated hearing test.  We can't get her hearing aids without this test, and four months is way too long to wait for her to hear if you ask me.  I did some calling, and lots of advocating.  I found an audiologist a couple of hours away in a large city that could get her in this Friday!  She will be sedated, and have a  computer hooked to areas of her skull.  The computer will read just exactly what our sweet baby girl is missing and what she can hear.  This will help the hearing aid center customize her aids to her beautiful ears.  We have an appointment at the hearing aid center the week after next, and, Lord willing, we may have these hearing aids in place before Christmas!  I am so thrilled to be able to offer her this tool.  As always, God has shown up in mighty ways for this beautiful girl of ours as He has opened doors to doctors and procedures that we were initially told would take much longer than this. I can't wait to see her face when she hears the birds sing for the first time.  I can't wait to watch her actually hear Mickey Mouse's voice while she dances to the clubhouse music she loves so much.  

While I am over the moon that my baby girl is going to have an opportunity to hear all the sounds God created, I can't help, but ache in my heart for those millions who will never have an opportunity to hear because they lay waiting in the orphan's bed for a momma to come. For those who wait, the opportunity to hear slips away as their chances of being chosen grow slimmer and slimmer as they get older.  This sweet girl of mine is such a treasure!  I can't imagine my life without her, and I know that there are many more, who are just as precious, waiting for someone to say yes to bringing them home.  Waiting for someone to say yes to some needs that may be a bit unknown trusting that God will provide all they need to make that one a son or daughter.  I have seen it each time I have said yes to adoption.  God meets each and every need!  How blessed I am to again have an opportunity to lean on the Lord trusting that He will meet all my baby girl's needs as this hearing loss is no surprise to Him.  I wait in anticipation as I watch Him use her life, and my small part in it, for His glory on this Earth.  I can't wait to see where this takes her!  

Determined and Adorable

This baby girl doesn't let anything stop her!  She can completely dress herself independently.  On a daily basis, I don't even think about her hands being different from ours.

She is adorable and I am completely smitten with this precious new treasure!