So What Do The Boys Think ?

I am OFTEN asked ' So, what do the boys think about Maggie" ?

The boys are so happy about having a sister. They love her with as much love that a seven and an eight year old boy can understand. They blow her "kisses" and pray she can feel them all the way in China. They pray for her, think of games to play with her when she comes home and talk about how beautiful she is. Maggie is their sister, and they are already very protective of her, as big brothers should be.

Will wrote this note the other day and gave it to me. I though it was so sweet !

Another dress for Maggie !

 

 

I am having WAY to much fun sewing these dresses. It definitely is more fun than cooking, cleaning and doing laundry !

I made a dress !

Isn't it so cute ? I wish I could say it was easy peasy, but the directions were not as detailed as I would have like them to be. I cut out the pattern wrong, and had to go back to the fabric store and buy all new fabric. But, after I got it cut out and penned together, it was pretty easy to sew. I really enjoyed putting it together and now I am a hooked on sewing these cute dresses. The fun part is picking out fabric and imagining it on our Maggie !

Sewing Project for Maggie !!

I am going to make Maggie a little A-Line jumper ! I have always wanted to sew little dresses and now I really get to. When the boys were little, I smocked them little John-Johns. My mom used to sew me clothes when I was little and my Grandmother sewed too. So, I learned a little about sewing from them. Stay tuned...I hope it turns out pretty and straight !!!

There's A Horse In Our Front Yard !

There have been many animals spotted around our house. Mostly we see deer, wild turkeys, neighborhood dogs and lots of birds. But, this was the first time we have seen a horse right out side our windows ! You see we have a neighbor that helps take care of some horses nearby. She has started exercising them in our neighborhood. She sometimes hooks them up to an old Amish type buggy and takes a nice buggy ride down our street. It is very charming to see the horse and buggy slowly trot along. She says that you really see life differently when you slow down, breathe the fresh air and enjoy the quietness and beauty of a buggy ride. I wonder just how much we miss out on by riding in cars everywhere, with our windows up and radios on......

How we celebrated !

Early Friday morning, August 14th 2009, we signed our Letter of Intent( LOI) saying yes !!!! We want to adopt Gao En Xiao ( Maggie). I slept about an hour the night before and couldn't wait to sign the papers and fax them to our agency.





Then, we cancelled school for the day and let the boys decide how we were going to celebrate getting Maggie's referral. Of course, Chuck and I were thinking Chinese food - but, the boys were thinking Pizza !!! So, we went to Shakey's Pizza and celebrated Maggie.







Then I went shopping for some little, cute, pink clothes !!



OH ! It was fun !! I got her a tiny, pink tu-tu and a little sundress for next year.
I am working on her room now and it's so fun too !!! I really had not done any shopping for our daughter prior to receiving our referral. But, now it's time !!!

Our Daughter Maggie !

We are so AMAZED that we have a daughter !! We are still pinching ourselves and staring at her pictures ! She is so beautiful ! We can't wait to see her smile - in all her pictures she has her pretty pouty lips closed with a sad expression that is so common in the photos of children in orphanages.

She was born on Oct. 29, 2008 and is actually just 9 and 1/2 months old ! She weighed 6.6 lbs at birth and at 6 months old weighed 13.5 lbs. she is described as "lively and gets on well with friends, not afraid of strangers and has a strong curiosity". She "likes sound toys, playing games with adults with great interest and happiness. She'll smile and ask for huggs." She "laughs aloud,has an active personality, a ready smile,fond of listening to music and playing with toys". How perfect for our family !
We are so in LOVE !!!!

She has three minor special needs :
1. Her right ear is under developed
2. Her Right ankle turns in
3. She has a small VSD

We do not see her as a special needs child. We see her as our daughter, complete and perfect. Her ear can be fixed if she chooses when she gets older, her heart should heal on its own or through a catheter procedure and her ankle will need either surgery,casts, braces or nothing. We have a wonderful International Adoption Clinic nearby and will have her evaluated by all the specialists there.

Looking at all the different special needs was intimidating when we decided to pursue a special needs adoption. We first started out considering only minor SN, then slowly we researched club feet, missing limbs, complex heart issues, and other SN. We researched, talked to doctors,read blogs and talked with families that had adopted SN children. But, the best thing we did was pray. It was a constant prayer in our hearts for wisdom. We also prayed specifically that we would both be in agreement when the time came. And we were in agreement on Thursday, Aug. 13th 2009 when I saw her picture for the first time and knew she was our daughter. There is so much more to her story and I am still so AMAZED how it all happened.

It's A Girl !!!!!!!!!

We have accepted a referral today of a beautiful 10 month old baby girl !!!!

God is so faithful and He knew all along who our little one was.

So, we will be introducing our daughter.....Maggie Caroline soon !

We can not post pictures of her yet, but let me tell you- She has the cutest little cheeks, beautiful pouty lips, and is described as being happy and curious !!!!

She is perfect in our eyes and I will share more later about her. For now, we are hanging around cloud nine for awhile !!!!

The Shared List

The Waiting Child shared list came out Wed. night some time. We have not gotten "the call" and it is a difficult time for us. However, We are praying for the babies and children on the list and thank God that they are getting a chance to be seen and reviewed, to be able to get rid of their orphan status and find a forever Family.

Praise God for all the families that have said "YES" to adoption and are stepping out on FAITH !!!

Even though we do not SEE that God is working, we know that He is working mightily in our behalf ( and our daughters ). We are willing to wait indefinitely for God - as long it takes.

We inherit the promises of God through faith and patience. (Hebrews 10:36 )

Wordless Wednesday

Back To School

We officially start back to school tomorrow at 8:30 AM. No more sleeping in for us !
I am using SonLight Curriculum this year and am so excited. All the lesson plans are already done for me !!

The boys are really ready to go back to school ( gasp !). We do A LOT of read-alouds and it makes learning fun and interesting. I am amazed at how much they remember too. The other day some one was talking about getting a surveyor to come look at some land and Walker said " hey, George Washington was a surveyor !". It's funny the things they remember.

This will be our 3rd year home-schooling and we are loving it. It's not always perfect or easy, but it has been such a blessing to all of us.