HOME!

HA-HA!! Found a way into Blogger!

.....take that, Great China Firewall!!

We are all doing well! Max is awesome--he's so sweet and lovey-dovey! Lily is having a hard time sharing, but she's coming along. She'll wake in the morning and want to know where Max is first thing. Then it's off to brother-sister spats. :)

I'm having a hard time getting a photo uploaded this way, but you can go to my Flickr site to see some cool pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbsmith/

Itinerary!!

06/24 ~ Atlanta to Tokyo to Beijing

06/25 ~ Arrive in Beijing~~free time

06/26 & 6/27 ~ Tour Beijing

06/28 ~ Fly to Zhengzhou, Henan Province

06/29 ~ MEET MAX IN THE MORNING!!!! & tons of paperwork

06/30 ~ More paperwork

07/01 ~ Free time/tour Henan

07/02 ~ Free time/tour Henan

07/03 ~ Receive Max's Chinese passport then fly to Guangzhou

07/04 ~ Happy 4th of July!! Max's physical and TB test, Max's visa photo taken, paperwork for US Consulate

07/05 ~ Free time/tour Guangzhou

07/06 ~ Visit clinic for TB test to be read & free time/tour Guangzhou

07/07 ~ Free time/tour Guangzhou

07/08 ~ US Consulate appointment, receive Max's visa packet

07/09 ~ US Consulate oath

07/10 ~ Take train to Hong Kong

07/11 ~ Tour Hong Kong

07/12 ~ Depart Hong Kong to Tokyo to ATLANTA.

HOME ~ Max meets Ben (!!!) and Lily realizes Max will want to play with her toys at home. Please note that throughout the trip there will be intermittant prayers that the 2 teens at home aren't burning down the house or just plain trashing it......or worse yet getting into trouble or killed. :) Lord have mercy on my soul.

No really~I'm sure the teens will be fine. :) Our neighbors know we're leaving, and Bob & Sue, our wonderful friends across the street, have volunteered to keep a watch over things.

5 more sleeps!! **the picture above was taken at The Forbidden City, Beijing in 2007.

Happenings

Next week Lily will have her adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. My sweet baby girl has had 4 ear infections since February. Even after a recent round of antibiotics she still has tons of fluid in her ears~especially her right ear...enough to cause some hearing loss (not permanent). We have to have this done before we travel to China or else the pressure change during the many flights could damage her eardrum or even just cause a lot of pain.

One of the things I love about where I work is that we have Child Life Specialists for each unit. They are invaluable. We call them to come talk to the children about everything~~you name it. They are so amazing at how they explain procedures to children on their level. They make my job so much easier when I have do something that can be scary for a child like inserting an IV or an NG tube or even if a little one's spirits need a lift.

We have some of our itinerary worked out for the trip to bring home Max. We depart for China on June 24th. I'll post our final itinerary this week when I have all the specifics. 11 more sleeps (including tonight) until we leave for China!! I can't believe we'll be a family of 6! Today I washed a bunch of Max's clothes, we went to Targ*t to get stuff for the children to play with on the plane that fit in their backpacks.

We told Lily today that when we return home from China she can get a goldfish for her room. She was so excited! This too will help her see herself as returning home with us after this long, emotional~yet very exciting and happy trip. She'll have to return home to go buy that goldfish (that she plans to name Goldilocks) that Mommy & Daddy promised :)

The picture to the right is a craft that Lily made in preschool a few weeks ago before the end of the school year. She says it's "King Max"~her brother. So cute!!

I hope to find the time and motivation to journal a little more. I started this blog a couple of years ago to journal some really wonderful events in our life, write about issues that we face, and to keep those interested up to date on our happenings. My Grandfather passed away a few weeks ago. And, with working 3 twelve hour shifts a week now, Lily being in preschool, high school sports, appointments, and pet hair....journaling as taken a back burner. We've also had some extended family issues that....frankly...can suck the life out of one's motivation to share. But we're getting back into the grove of things...focusing on what's important. Remembering that we are happy, close, and strong.

We will also be posting photos of our trip on our Flickr site! Max. Here. We. Come!!!

New Pictures of Max!!

Hold on Max!!! We're coming!!!

Making a Difference!....and an Update on Max's Move West!!

*Mayah's Fund made the goal for Gail's surgery!! I look forward to following Gail's progress.

Many people here in our local adoption community know Our Story when we were in the process of adopting Lily. There's no doubt in our minds that God was at work in our lives....and many other's lives. We still keep in touch with all of the people that touched our lives~forever connected~~

*Christine and Oprhan Response are preparing for another trip to Lily's orphanage in Siping this summer! Next year I hope to join this group to Siping.

*Katherine over at Life of a Pilgrim has been fund raising for the orphans at Lily's orphanage for several years. Katherine is currently fundraising for 2 children from Siping orphanage to travel to south China to have a serial casting treatment done for club feet.

*Cassandra & Dale are getting closer to bringing their child home. Cassandra and Dale only live about 5 minutes away~~which still blows my mind!! You'll have to read Our Story to see why.

*Debbie at Pixel Fairy Princess Photography started the ball rolling with our story. You have to stop on over to see the work she does with a camera~~stunning!

*Max is a few steps closer to home!! We got our LOA from China a month earlier than expected~~4/15/09!! We're currently waiting for the final travel approval from China~~which we expect to get within the next 2 weeks. Once our consulate appointment is made we'll be able to make flight arrangements! It's looking like June travel!!

*May 8th will be 2 years since we met Lily in China!! Happy Anniversary Lily!!

Adoption and the people brought into our lives through adoption have changed our life forever.

We cannot save the world, but for this child the world will change.

This adorable baby girl is Gail, and she is waiting in Love Without Boundaries cleft healing home in Anhui Province for her cleft repair. Gail is now ready for surgery, but she needs approximately $1000 to pay for her surgery, and Mayah's Fund has raised over $800 so far.

Mayah's Fund was started by my wonderful friend, Jen Reuter and her family in honor of their beautiful daughter, Mayah Reuter. Please stop by Mayah's Fund to read more about Mayah's story or visit Our Journey to Mayah, and give to a cause that will improve the quality of life of an orphan with a special need.

"One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody" ~Mother Teresa

A glimpse into Lily's 3 year old mind

Lily: *out of the blue she looks up at me* "Mama, I'm going to be mad if you hold Max."

Me: *squatting down to look eye~to~eye with a smile* "I know sweetie. But, I want you to know that ALL of the love that I have for you is just for you, Lily. Max cannot have any of my love that I have for Lily. I do love Max, and my love for Max is just for Max."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily: *as I'm holding her walking down the steps* "I like dinosaurs. Like the dinosaurs in the doctor's office."

Me: *turning to look at Lily with a surprised look at this new topic of discussion* "You do? You really DO like dinosaurs?"

Lily: "Yes. What are the ones that fly with big wings again?"

Me: "Pterodactyl"

Lily: "Yes, yes. And some have long necks and some have small necks."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Me: *after several cues over a bit of time showing that we may have an ear infection brewing* "Lily, we're going to go see Dr. Ho so she can look in your ears and see if you need some medicine to make them feel better."

Lily: "Ok" *Looking a bit sad* "You're going to stay with me? I don't want you to leave me."

Me: "Oh no, sweetie. Mommy's going to be right there with you. The doctor will just look in your ear with a light like before....it won't hurt....just like it didn't hurt before."

Lily: "But what if you leave me at the doctor's like you left Chloe?"

*A couple of months ago we had to leave one of our cats, Chloe, at the Vet for tests because she wasn't feeling well. I explained to Lily that Chloe would only stay at the Vet for a little while then we would be able to bring her back home. Lily didn't say much more about it at the time.*

I then explained to Lily that I would NOT be leaving her with the pediatrician, that I would be with her the entire time, and that I would NOT be leaving without her.

I treasure all of my conversations with Lily.

A New Favorite Place

We have recently paid a couple of visits to this place that is close to home. They even have an awesome brunch menu on Sundays...(psssst~~Bloody Mary's available at noon. ;) Then you can enjoy a bit of Historic Roswell shopping afterward. Lily loves the Margaret Pizza.

Cooking with Lily

On our way home from China when me traveled to bring Lily home we had a lay-over in Seoul, South Korea. We had dinner at this wonderful restaurant where I ordered a soup with Lily's favorite~~noodles. I don't remember what it was called, but it had a beef broth base, thinly sliced pork that seemed to have been BBQ'd or grilled first, chopped scallions, noodles, and fresh spinach. I added some toasted sesame oil and pepper to taste.

Recently we also made a cookie cake. Lily loved decorating it with icing and sprinkles in spring colors. Neither of these creations lasted long at all!!

Insight

Lily is able to fall asleep without us next to her, and she knows this. There have been many times when she has laid down on our bed or the couch without either of us and had gone to sleep because she was tired. I guess as parents we’re a bit more on the laid back side about Lily sleeping in her own room and in her own bed. Lily has slept with us most nights since we met in China. We actually feel this has been pivotal in our development of a healthy bond and attachment with Lily. I know there are differing opinions about co-sleeping, and I believe it really boils down to individual families and what works for them.

Recently there was a night when Eric and I were watching a movie and Lily wanted to watch Noggin. Lily was snuggled in with blanky on my lap, and I said to her, “why don’t you lay down on Mommy & Daddy’s bed and watch Noggin? We want to finish watching the end of this movie and then we’ll come up and snuggle you.” Lily answered, “But I want you to be beside me.” I said to Lily, “Well, Mommy & Daddy will be right here. You’ll just be right up stairs in Mommy & Daddy’s bed. This is your house and Mommy & Daddy are right here~~it’s ok.” Lily looked up at me and said, “You are going to turn Chinese and then I will be in Chinese house.” *she held her arms out as if to gesture to our house* “This is my princess house.” I snuggled Lily really close giving her lots of kisses. I smiled at her and told her, “Mommy cannot turn Chinese, and this is your home with Mommy & Daddy always.”

As an adoptive mom sometimes I wonder just how much Lily feels secure now in our family. I think about the extent of her memories of the daily routine of living in Siping orphanage. I’ve even wondered recently if when we visit China this summer to bring home Max, will Lily have a flood of old feelings come back or insecurities re-surface. Will she think that maybe she won’t be coming back home with us?? I know Lily can't just say, "I remember this or I remember that" and literally put things into words, but there are things that she says that give much insight. I’ve started talking to Lily about our trip to China this summer. I describe taking a long ride on a plane, that we will stay for a little while so we can see beautiful places and then go meet Max. Then we will all have to ride the plane again to come home, and we will be bringing Max with us. We will then have to introduce Max to Benjamin, Sparky, and the other animals. I ask her if she will help me take care of Max, help Max learn to be gentle while petting the cats, and learn to use the potty. I hope to spark her imagination where she can see herself doing all of these things knowing that is how it will be. I hope this will help keep any fears at bay that she will not return home with us.

Lily’s preschool teacher told me the other day that she felt that I was explaining things very well to Lily and that we were preparing her well for Max’s arrival. There are days when Lily is brought to our car in the car pool line by her teacher and she will tell me that they all heard a lot about Max that day. We have much pride in Lily’s Chinese heritage, and we are very interested in Chinese culture and history, and we teach this to Lily. We have books with beautiful photos of China that she loves to see. We have collage frames with photos of us on The Great Wall and in the Forbidden City. We have three photo albums full of Lily’s first 2 years living in Siping orphanage, thanks to the teachers, that we sit down and go through with Lily whenever she asks to see them.

So far Lily has not mentioned a thought about having another mother and father~~her birth mother or a birth father, but I can feel that these conversations are near. She notices our differences. Sometimes when we are in front of the bathroom mirror and I’m fixing her hair she will say to me, “What color are your eyes, Mama?” I’ll tell her my eyes are blue and then ask her what color her eyes are. Lily will tell me that her eyes are black. Actually her eyes are dark brown~~so dark brown they are like big, beautiful dark pools. Only in the light or in sun light is it possible to see her pupils. I tell her that it’s ok that our eyes are different and our hair is a different color. God made everyone different because he loves variety so then so should we.

Hold on to your seats for some major CUTENESS!

Our agency asked for an update on Max on March 9th, and we had been waiting patiently for news. My heart exploded with love and happiness when I opened an email this morning with our adorable son's face looking back at me. I absolutely can't wait to hold him, show him how much I love him, and make him happy.











Lily giggled like crazy when I handed her my Blackberry with Max's pictures~she's so excited and really is looking forward to having a little brother. Lily looks at Max's pictures all the time and talks about all of the things she wants to teach him.

There are so many times when, out of the blue, Lily will ask questions about Max coming home (she especially wants to know when and especially why not right now). There have been times when we'll be shopping in the store with Lily riding in one of the car-carts and Lily will say, (*as she's pointing to the seat beside her*)..."Hey Mama! Max can sit right here next to me!" Last night we were laying in bed watching cartoons, and Lily looked at me and said, "I'm not going to like it if you hold Max". Lily is showing us how she is really imagining life with Max here with us. We have many talks about how nothing can change the way we love our Lily~that we have tons of love, hugs, and snuggles for everyone.

We learned today that Max's foster family calls him "Tao" or "Tao Tao". I like that :) He is active, but shy with strangers, and doesn't like being held by strangers. (great news on the attachment front!) Max loves to take a bath and play in water (a match made in heaven for this water-lovin', beach and ocean dreamin' Mama!)

Max's Jie Jie

If you want to hear God laugh....tell him your plans.

Funny how plans change....kinda makes you stop and think about how we really are not the ones in control. Because see...if it was up to me I would still be starting orientation this Monday. I learned this morning that my recruiter put me on the orientation list to start this Monday not realizing that to be JCAHO (joint commission) compliant they need my "official" results from the state~~which is taking anywhere from 8 business days to 3 weeks. I can get "unofficial" results in 48 hours...but....

...I'll just sit tight, concentrate on passing this exam tomorrow, and enjoy an extra 2 weeks of time off. These 2 weeks will be even sweeter since I won't have to study anymore. A blessing in disguise!

We're hoping to receive an update of some sort about Max soon. We think and talk about him all the time....imagining him being here with us. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to really love a child that you have never even met. So in the meantime we've been preparing for his arrival shuffling teens around. We painted the guest room for Angela. She's all moved in and loving the fact that she has her own bathroom! Mark liked Angela's room since it was bigger so we painted it a color fitting for a young man instead of a teenage girl. Then we decided to paint the kids bathroom. This is done now so we will paint Max's room next week and move the clothes and toys that we've bought for him so far into his room. I had to laugh when Lily looked at me and said, "I want to change the color of my room". Eric loves the New York Yankees~~so maybe a baseball theme for Max's room?? I like boats and the beach~~so maybe a nautical theme??

(Lily took this photo of us about a week ago)

The countdown begins!!!

We found out yesterday that our official log in date with the CCAA for Max is February 13, 2009!!

I'm convinced that things always happen when Eric leaves to go out of town for work....sometimes good...sometimes bad.

Toward the end of last week Lily started to come down with an upper respiratory issue that progressively got worse over the weekend despite the recommended treatment. It's a virus and antibiotics don't treat a virus. I don't use over the counter children's cold medicines....they cause more problems and don't really work~~unless you just want to knock the child out. I want my children to feel better not just knock them out. So I use Benadryl and although it does make them tired, it helps relieve the symptoms: runny nose/post nasal drip, watery eyes, inflammation of mucous membranes. Ibuprofen helps with the low grade fever (not quite 101), reduces inflammation of mucous membranes, and is a pain reliever.

However, over the weekend Lily kept producing mucous like it was her job. I knew we had to see the doctor on Monday morning because this was going to turn into an ear infection. Lily hasn't had an ear infection since before she had the fistula in her palate repaired. These treatments usually work, but this time she ended up with a double ear infection so now she's taking an antibiotic. I'll be so happy when we can finally open the windows and get fresh air in the house!

On another note I finally received my "authorization to test" for the NCLEX exam. I'm scheduled for March 5th!! It's taken me 5 years to complete this degree. I called Children's Healthcare and they were right on it getting me on the orientation schedule~~I start work March 9th!!

Last Saturday night we went to this restaurant with this couple. Tiffany & Eric are awesome new friends, and we look forward to getting to know them better. We're pretty sure we'll be traveling together since our boys are both from Henan Province, China. Our dossiers were sent together from our agency, CCAI, and we have the same log in date.

P.S. Micah & Sheridan~~ here comes Max & Levi!!

My Girls....Valentines Day

Dumpling night part deux

Flour and water to the right consistancy is the best for making the dough. I watch Xia with a skinny rolling pin make perfectly round pockets (and really fast I may add) for the filling, however we need some practice. For the filling tonight we used ground pork, finely chopped scallions, finely chopped Chinese cabbage, a dash of soy sauce, a dash of sesame oil, and grated ginger. Variations include adding shrimp to the pork or using chicken and shrimp. This is Lily's favorite dish...can you tell by the smile?? She also loves pork Lo Mein and Hot & Sour soup. This child has a palate for Chinese cuisine....one may excitedly say, "hey, we're going for pizza!"....but, you get a bigger smile if you say we're going out to our favorite Chinese restaurant.


.....yes, Benjamin's on the couch....again.

D....T....C..........BABY!!!

New pictures of Max

CCAI sent us a couple of pictures of Max estimated to have been taken June 2008!

And, this last photo we found on the Love Without Boundaries website.

~ Life as we wait for Max ~

Best friends ~ Kate & Angela dinner at Xian

Champion Puzzler

Making dumplings

Catdog

Potluck and friends

A girl can never have too many blankys!

Lily LOVES....I mean LOVES Little Giraffe blankys. They are so highly coveted...so majorly important...don't dare let a thing happen to the blanky. We have lost several travel size blankys over the last year....when that happens we have to add a trip to the closest Little Giraffe blanky carrying store to our list of things to do that day. :) Tip for a happy Lily~a large blanky to cover her body and the travel size for snuggling--color doesn't matter....thank goodness.