The Journey Continues...

Please Forgive Me

2012-01-19T05:43:00.001-08:00

I am So sorry for the lack of updating. Things have been crazy, good crazy, but still crazy since we have been home.

It has taken me over a week to get over jet lag. I have NEVER had problems before with jet lag, but for some reason this time has been really difficult. Plus I came home with a horrible cold so that plus the lack of sleep has left me a mess. The first week home I felt like I was living in a haze, seriously. I couldn't manage to get anything done. I simply could not sleep. I would go to bed by 8, then wake up at 1 or 2 and not be able to go back to sleep. I couldn't even take a nap in the afternoon. My body was just not wanting to sleep.

I am finally starting feel somewhat normal again. Kalia did great on the flight home and has done great with jet lag. The first couple of days was tough, but after that, she was set.

Okay, things are going GREAT! Really, really GREAT! I absolutely could not have asked for anything better. I realize we haven't even been home a month yet, but we are amazed at how well Kalia and the other kids are doing.

For Christmas we got a family pass to the YMCA so within the first few days home we utilized that. All of our kids LOVE to swim and Kalia is no exception.

Alot of the pics were taken with my phone so the quality is not the greatest. Sorry:(

We also got haircuts! Kalia has beautiful hair. It is very thick and has a natural wave to it. I wanted to get it trimmed up a bit. At first she was reluctant, but once she realized we were only going to cut a tiny bit off, she was okay. Plus Emma went first so I think that helped.

Emma has natural curly hair and has been wanting to get hers straightened for a long time so I finally gave in.

Kalia, Emma and Mylee share a room which I will get pics of up soon, I promise. I have a few finishing touches I want to take care of before I post pics. Anyway, they each have their own bed, but for some reason Kalia always ends up in Mylee's bed. This is what I found one morning...

I am so in love with this girl. She is such a sweety.

Today was Kalia's first day of school. She was SO excited and has been asking since we got home when she would go. We held off on sending her so 1 she could get adjusted at home and 2 because we wanted to get her blood work results back. In her original file she was listed as being Hep B positive. After having our doctor go over her file, he wasn't sure she was positive and told us that her body had probably regenerated which means she may have had it, but then it went away. So, before we "alarmed" anyone, we kept the possibility of her being Hep B positive to ourselves. So, before sending her to school we wanted to know whether she was in fact positive or negative. We got the results back Tuesday and she is NOT Hep B positive.

So, we spent the day Tuesday getting her a couple new outfits for school, a new backpack, and all her school supplies.

Kalia and Emma will both be in 4th grade. They will be in different classes, but will have math together, lunch, and recess. They were both a little upset about not being in the same class, but are excited to have math together.

First day of school

Sisters

In other news, Blake is doing great. While I was in China he ended up in ICU due to his Diabetes. Blake was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2010. Over Christmas break, he numbers were out of control which caused him to get very sick and almost ended up in a coma. Thank God, he is doing much better and his numbers have been awesome. He feels so much better. Thank you to all who prayed for him.

Also, remember this post? You know, the one where I got in a wreck right before Thanksgiving. Well, after over 2 months we finally got our van back last Friday. Well, you're not going to believe what happened. Monday morning I was on my way downtown to meet Matt's cousin because we went to his Aunt's house on Sunday and I left my purse there. His cousin had to come to town so she was bringing it to me. Anyway, long story short, I got hit again. YES, again. We just got the van back Friday and Monday I was in another wreck. I will say that the first one was not my fault, but this one was. No one was hurt, thank God, but my van is going back in the shop for another 2 weeks.

Other than the wreck, things are going awesome. I cannot thank you all enough for your thoughts, prayers and rallying to help us get the funds to bring Kalia home. She is by far the BEST Christmas gift I have ever gotten. Matt and I are in awe of what God has done for us and our family. We are truly Blessed.

Home Again, Home Again

2012-01-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

Finally! I know. I apologize for the laps in posts. We arrived home safely Friday evening just as planned. It was so nice to pull up to the house and see the kids waiting for us at the door. They couldn't get out of the door fast enough.

We had many people waiting for us to get home besides the kids and Matt. Matt's mom was there to welcome us and Steve home, as well as some of my adoptive mommy friends. It was SO good to be home and see everyone. Pics will be posted soon.

I think Kalia was a bit overwhelmed by all the people, but she did well. I don't think we were in the house 10 minutes and she, Emma, and Mylee were up in their new room.

Kalia is fitting in so well. She and Emma are getting along great, better than I expected. I am assuming she was a "mommy" figure in the orphanage because she is trying to be one too Mylee too.

She and Blake act like they have been brother and sister for years. They love teasing each other.

I promise I will upload pics soon. For some reason I am having a horrible time with jet lag plus I have a terrible cold or sinus infection. Once I get back to myself, I will post pics and a more in depth update.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2012-01-04T18:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but we are having trouble getting on our e-mail and since I cannot post to the blog myself, I have to e-mail the posts home for them to be posted.

The last few days have been busy, busy, busy. Sunday was an “off” day for our guide which was no big deal. We took advantage of it and rested around the hotel. We did walk across the bridge to the herbal market and pet area. All I can say is it is a must see for anyone coming over. It is truly an experience.

There were tons and tons of seahorses, not sure what they are used for and I wasn’t about to ask

Bags like this lined both sides of the streets.

Once we crossed this street we were clearly in the pet market

Monday our guide took us to a temple. I went to one when in Nanjing when I was here to get Mylee, but never to one in Guangzhou. We are clearly Christian however; it was very interesting to see.

After that we just headed back to the hotel to rest and get some dinner. We ate at the Italian place which is still extremely good.

We also stopped by Susan’s Place. If you have ever been to GZ before I am sure you are familiar with Dong. He is one of the nicest people and is truly a genuine guy. He loves to make tea for the families. Of course Steve shared some tea with him.

Tuesday we went to the Safari Park which is something else I had never done. I have been to the GZ zoo, ad I highly recommend going to the Safari Park instead. Part of the park is taking a train through a safari and some of the animals were so close we could touch them (we didn’t, but that is just how close they get). It was really cool and I was able to get some awesome pictures.

I LOVED seeing the giraffes up close.

Kalia even got to feed the giraffes

I have no idea what these trees were, but the flowers on them were beautiful

After the zoo we made one more trip back to the fabric market. Our guide asked me if the fabric market was the highlight of my trip and my answer was “no, Kalia has been the highlight, but the fabric market is definitely second.” Seriously, I could have spent hours in there looking, and looking and looking. Let’s just say I cannot wait to get home and sew.

And today was THE day. We went to the Consulate today to take our oath and as soon as we land in Chicago, Kalia Faith De Le will be an official American Citizen.

Our guide picks up her Visa tomorrow and at 4:30 pm we are on a van to Hong Kong. We will spend the night in Hong Kong and our flight home on Friday leaves at 10:00 a.m.

This will most likely be my last post until we arrive home so please pray for safe travels. I am SO ready to be home and have all seven of my kids in one place. I miss them and Matt terribly and I know they miss me.

All I can say is God is SO good and we are So Blessed…

Another Day Down

2011-12-31T07:17:00.000-08:00

Whooo, finally a good night’s sleep! Seriously, the beds at our hotel in Jinan were like sleeping on a concrete floor, okay, maybe a concrete floor with a blanket over it. They were so hard. Plus our room was like a sauna for a week. It was so hot, and we could not get the thermostat to work. We even had the hotel staff come “fix” it, but it still was very hot. Here at the Victory the beds are so much more comfortable and the room is much more bearable plus we can open our windows if needed.

We started off the day with breakfast. Let me tell ya, Kalia is a good eater. She fills up with every meal.

Yes, all three plates are hers, and yes, she finished all but a few of the tomatoes.

From there we headed to get her medical exam done. We were there fairly early and did not have to wait in a massive line.

This was during her hearing test which obviously was normal.

After the hearing test she had the physical exam which she did NOT like. She was NOT happy at all. I can’t say that I blame her. She had to take off her pants, shoes, and socks and have some strange doctor examine her. Then, they focused too much on her left foot which is an unrepaired club foot (I think). They kept making her walk back and forth and calling over more doctors to look at it. She walks pretty normal, has a slight limp, but they couldn’t figure out how to describe it in her paperwork. All I can say is that she and I were both relived when it was over.

She had her height and weight checked and a vision test. If that wasn’t enough trauma for one day, she had to get a TB test as well. So far it looks good, we go back on Monday to have it read.

After the medical exam, our guide, Richard took us to a shopping area that reminds me of Times Square in NY. There is a big jumbo tron and a McDonalds on tow of the four corners. There are shops everywhere, and shops within shops. Kalia got a few Barbie movies; the girl LOVES anything Barbie and Princess, especially moves and books. She also found a pair of boots. I have been trying to get her to buy a pair of boots but she couldn’t find anything she liked. I was thinking maybe something like the fuzzy lined, suede boots, but she apparently had something completely different in mind. She picked out a pair of white boots with bows up the side at first, and we were able to compromise and she got the black one. Still not quite what I wanted to get her, but they will work and more importantly, they made her happy.

After that we ate McDonalds and headed over to the fabric district. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was So excited. It did not disappoint. There was fabric everywhere; I didn’t even know where to begin. I picked out three different fabrics, and several buttons and trims. I cannot wait to get home to start sewing again. (I may even need to make one more “quick” trip back to the fabric market). This stuff is so cheap here, at least half, if not more of what I would pay back home.

Other than that, it was a pretty dull day. Below are pictures that I took today around the city. Oh, I was able to find a new lens, again more than half of what I would have paid at home.

In the Cannon store making sure the new lens worked

Yes, McDonalds delivers here!

Halfway Done

2011-12-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your prayers. Blake is home and doing well. He was pretty sick. The doctors told Matt that he was about 4-6 hours away from going into a coma. So THANK YOU all for your prayers. He is doing much better and glad to be home.

The last couple of days we did some sightseeing in Jinan. On Thursday our guide took us to DaMing Lake which is a huge lake and park. It is a place that scholars and poets would go to thousands of years ago to write and have writing contests. It was beautiful, but very cold so we didn’t stay too long. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the spring and summer.

I LOVE this picture...

This may be a picture I frame. I am not a photographer, but I just love the way this turned out.

After we left the lake, our guide took us to a school. My father in law is the Superintendent of a school corporation back home and I thought it would be cool for him to tour a school to see how Chinese student’s lives may differ from Americans. So, our guide was able to get us in to the school that is 13 year old daughter attends.

The school is surrounded by a locked gate and there are security guards as well. At first we weren’t sure we were going to be able to go in, but our guide spotted his daughter’s teacher and was able to talk his way in.

Middle School students

Elementary School Students

We were taken into the school to a room with about eight 8^th grade Chinese students, and some teachers. Steve was able to explain how our schools back home work, the classes that were offered, sizes, extracurricular activities, length of day, etc. The kids asked questions and there English was very good. They shared with us what a typical day is for them, school starts about 7:30 a.m. and ends around 5 pm. They do get an hour lunch are some stay at school to eat and some go home. Most of the students live very near the school. This particular school was attached to Shandong University so most of the students were children of the professors. There were some (including our guide’s daughter) who were not professor’s children and had to take an entrance exam to get it.

It was very interesting and I think the kids enjoyed it as well. I will say that from the moment we walked up to the gate, Kalia did NOT want to be there. In fact, our guide even asked her and she said she didn’t want to be there. I had him explain to her why we were there and that we would only be there for a short time then we would go back to the hotel. She was quite nervous and fidgety while we were there, but once we left, she was much more relaxed. We are not sure why she was so uncomfortable, but she is fine now.

These are the individual classrooms

The kids loved saying “hello” to us in English

After that we went back to our hotel for lunch (McDonalds) and then Kalia and I ventured back into the alley of the unknown and Steve went back to the room.

The whole alley was mostly food places. There were a couple little shops here and there, but mostly just different types of places to eat.

We decided since it was out last night in Jinan we would try one more Chinese restaurant. Our guide told us about a place that was just across the street from our hotel and was one of the 10 best places to eat in Jinan. It was called the Sunflower Restaurant. I asked the hotel to write down a couple of dishes in Chinese for us so we would at least have an idea of what we were eating.

Kalia ordered a couple of dishes and Steve and I ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken. Let me just say, the portion sizes here are enormous. We had 4 dishes plus rice and there was still a ton of food left over.

This was the first dish to be brought out. It was chicken. Kalia dove right in, and Steve has a few pieces as well. As I was picking through to get a piece, I found this.

That my friends, is the head of a chicken. As soon as I saw that, there was no way I could eat it. Sorry, but I just couldn’t do it.

This was the second dish to be brought out which is something Kalia ordered. It is clearly shrimp, the whole shrimp, eyes and all. Neither Steve or I are fans of shrimp so this was also a no go for us. But Kalia liked it.

They also brought out the sweet and sour chicken which was really good (sorry I forgot to take a picture). Lastly was a spicy beef dish which was really, really good. It was my favorite.

We all left stuffed.

Friday morning we took off for the airport to fly to Guangzhou. Kalia was so funny to watch. While Steve and I were finishing up packing, she was close to the door, coat on, and bags in hand. She was ready to go.

She did great on the flight. It was about 2.5 hours from Jinana to Guangzhou.

We are in Guangzhou now and staying at the Victory Hotel. The weather here is so nice, 60’s. Once we got settled in to our room we headed out for some dinner. We ate at Lucy’s. For those not familiar with GZ, Lucy’s is a resturaunt that caters to adoptvies families. There is anything from cheeseburgers, pb&j, to steak, and Chinese food.

After that we walked around a bit then headed back to the room. Today we have our Medical exam so I am hoping Kalia does okay with that. After that our guide is going to take us to a market. Tomorrow is a free day so I am sure we will find something to do.

My camera lens broke, not sure how, but I think I am going to have our guide, Richard take us to the electronics market to see if I can get a replacement.

I will say that Kalia’s personality is coming out more and more. She is smiling more. Her smiles are more real and not forced. Her mood is definitely much more relaxed since we have been in Guangzhou. It is almost like it is a relief for her to be out of Jinan. I would love to know what is going through her head.

She is a beautiful girl and I am thanking God for allowing me the chance to call her my daughter. She is going to fit in quite well with the other kids.

Smooth Sailing, So Far

2011-12-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Things are continuing to go smoothly. Yesterday was a free day for us so we just hung around the hotel. Kalia went swimming again, which she loves. We also went for a walk at a nearby park and saw a water show they do to music. I got video, but it is taking forever to upload.

Kalia is pretty much your typical pre-teen.

We have SKYPED with Kalia’s friend that was adopted last month and both girls have enjoyed seeing each other. I think it also helps Kalia to know things are going to be okay. Her friend is also speaking a lot of English. Since they were here just a month ago we asked where some good places to eat were, we have been eating Pizza Hut and McDonalds for the most part and we are all ready for a change.

Our hotel is in a pretty “swanky” area that has a mall with stores like Rolex, Versace, etc. Kalia’s friend’s mom told us that behind the stores across from our hotel there were some great Chinese restaurants. So, we ventured into the alley of the unknown yesterday for dinner.

My father in law is not a very adventurous person in fact, he does not like Chinese food at all (I know, I know). So, we tried to find the “best looking” place to eat. You could tell as soon as we walked in they weren’t used to seeing many Americans, if any.

Kalia ordered and I translated that Steve and I wanted spicy Chicken with white rice (trying to play it safe).

They first brought out this dish which is what Kalia ordered. Steve and I decided there was no way she could eat it all so we decided to help her. It was actually pretty good. It was corn, carrots, and cucumbers in a sweet sauce.

He’s pretty proud of himself for being able to pick up the kernel of corn with chopsticks

Then they brought out a gigantic bowl of this soup. It was a brown broth with tofu, green leafy stuff, and what looked like eggs like in egg drop soup. This was also something Kalia ordered. Steve tried it right away which really surprised me. He said it wasn’t bad so I tried it too. I didn’t like it at all.

While we were trying to figure out if this was something we ordered or Kalia I thought I better see what spicy chicken actually translated to. It translated to Chicken Mordacios, which neither of us had any idea what Mordacious meant. As we were laughing about that, they actually did bring out a chicken dish that didn’t look too bad.

We all dug in and to our surprise, it was pretty good once you got past the chicken bones and gristle which you are apparently supposed to spit out right on the table if you don’t like them.

After that we returned to our room where we all crashed before 8:00pm.

Today we had to meet our guide in the lobby at 8am because he was taking us to DeZhou which is where Kalia’s orphanage is. During breakfast I sensed there was something wrong and noticed her mood had changed pretty quickly.

She was very quiet on the ride to DeZhou (it was about 2 hours) and listened to her iPod the whole time. I was pretty nervous about what would happen when we got there. I was scared she would have another meltdown when it was time to leave, or flat out refuse to leave. She completely surprised me and wanted nothing to do with any of the orphanage people including her nanny and nurse who brought her to Jinan. She wouldn’t even let them help her out of the van. In fact, she would not talk to hardly anyone that tried to talk to her. She tried to ignore all the orphanage staff.

This is actually the building Kalia stayed in

We were greeted by the director which was a woman about my age, Kalia’s nanny and nurse, and some guy who had a camera. They led us into the entrance of the orphanage and then up to the third floor which is where the younger children slept. We were first taken into a “play” room for kids. There were about 20 kids in there that looked to have some sort of mental disability and a couple of kids with downs syndrome. We were then taken next door to where the kids slept. There were about 20 or 30 cribs but only about 5 kids in them including a fairly newborn baby. There was one nanny trying to bottle feed all the kids while they laid in their cribs.

From there we were taken to Kalia’s room that she shared with Yiera (the little girl who was adopted last month). It was a very nice room with two beds, a closet, and a desk. All of the kids Kalia’s age were at school so we didn’t get to meet any of her other friends. I did ask how many kids were in the orphanage and was told that there were 65 and they had just sent 3 kids’ paperwork to CCCWA to be ready for adoption. Kalia was only the third to be adopted from this orphanage.

Kalia’s bed is the one closest to the window, the other one was her friend’s that was adopted last month.

They took us down to the 2^nd floor to the exercise room which is where Kalia was able to dance. In there we stood and talked about the differences between China and America and how they handle their children. I explained to them about how our foster care system works and they all agreed that they think China needs to adopt the same policies as America.

This is where Kalia practiced her dancing

I asked how far away the school was that Kalia went to and how she got there. I was told they walked to school and that it was only 10 minutes away. So of course I asked if we could drive by so I could take pictures which they said was fine.

It wasn’t long before both Steve and I noticed that this was no 10 minute walk away, more like 45 minutes to an hour. Once we got to the school I got out to take pictures and was told that the new orphanage that we had just visited was not where Kalia actually lived during the week. Because the new orphanage is so far away from the school, they decided that the school children would stay at the old orphanage (which only a few blocks away from the school) during the week and go to the new orphanage on the weekends.

Kalia’s school

So, once again I had to ask if I could see it. They were totally open to taking us there and giving us a tour and letting me take pictures.

The old orphanage is now mostly for old people so the school kids slept on the top floor during the week so they could walk to school. Across the courtyard was there the boys stayed and where the kids played.

This is pretty much where Kalia has spent the last 9.5 years.

This was her building that she slept in

This was where they played and the boys slept

This little girl was too sick to go to school so she stayed home with the nanny

You never get used to the sights like this. It is truly heartbreaking to see that this is where my daughter had lived for 9.5 years. I will say that it was obvious that her nanny cared for her very much. They did say Kalia was one of the favorites and helped a lot with the younger children. But to think that this is where she has slept for basically her whole life just breaks my heart.

This was her bed

There were a total of 8 girls in this room

From there we said our goodbyes and there were no tears shed whatsoever. In fact, all Kalia did was wave goodbye, no hugs, nothing.

Steve and I both agreed that Kalia did not like being there. She was nervous the whole time and jittery. Once we were on the road back to Jinan, you could see her instantly start to relax. I would love to know what was going to through her head while we were there.

Once we returned to Jinan, the guide dropped us off at the hotel and we wet to lunch at McDonald then over to the supermarket for some water and snacks. Boy can my girl shop. Loooove it!

Tomorrow we will go to Diamond Lake and tour an Elementary school (my father in law is in education).

Please keep Blake in your prayers. I posted over a year ago that he had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Well, when we SKYPED home earlier today Matt said Blake was sick and vomiting. We figured he had the flu or just ate something that didn’t agree with his stomach. I asked what his sugar was which was 118 which is good. So, as we were driving to DeZhou I got a text from Matt that he needed the doctors number because Blake’s sugar was 408 with high ketones. The next text I got was they the doctor wanted Blake to go to the ER immediately.

He was pretty dehydrated which for a Diabetic can cause big problems. They are keeping him overnight and going to continue to do IV fluids.

Please keep Blake in your prayers that he will heal quickly and go home tomorrow.

A New Day

2011-12-27T00:50:00.001-08:00

Things are going so well right now. This was after the melt down.

Well, I’m not gonna lie, I woke up this morning pretty nervous. Although the last night went pretty well, I still worried Kalia would not sign the papers once we got to the Civil Affairs Office.

The lady on the left is the orphanage nurse and the lady on the right is the nanny

Our guide picked us up at 8:00 a.m. and took us to the Civil Affairs office where we met Kali's nanny and nurse. I was afraid she would run to them and cling to them which would make it harder on her. BUT, she totally surprised me by only saying hi. It may have something to do with the iPod we gave her for translation (we had an old one at home) which also has some games on it. While money was exchanged and documents signed, she sat and played her iPod not really paying attention to what was going on.

Kalia signing saying YES to the adoption

Kalia putting her fingerprint which makes everything official and final

Once all the documents were signed including her signature and fingerprint, Praise God, we had to drive across town to the notaries office to take care of that. My father in law is getting quite the adventure from the driving here. If you have never been to China, their driving is undescribable. It is definitely something you have to experience to understand.

Anyway, all the paperwork is done and Kalia is officially a Yager, and we are officially a family of 9. Wow, 9!

After we were done with that, our guide dropped us off at the hotel and we are on our own until Wednesday morning which is when we will drive to Dezhou City and tour the orphanage.

We spent the day watching a movie, then went next door to a pretty swanky mall and at McDonalds for lunch. After that we found a huge bookstore that was four or five stories high. Kalia likes to read so I wanted to get her some books for the plane rides and for when we get home until she is able to understand English. She was so much fun to watch, she skipped from aisle to aisle looking for books and had no problem picking out the things she liked and wanted.

On the way back to the hotel she looked at me and said, in English, "I want to swim." I was a little surprised at how good she said it in English and even praised her on it. She got a huge smile on her face. So, we went in search of a bathing suit. I didn't think we would find one, but we were able to find one next door at the shopping mall. She could not wait to get back to the hotel so she could swim.

She looked so cute in the bathing suit and was so excited to get in the water. She got in right away and hung on to the ladder at first. She got a little brave and let go of the stairs which was pretty scary for both of us. I guess I just assumed she could swim, which she cannot. I had to reach in and get her because she was too far from the stairs to reach it. She was a little scared and translated to me that she needed a swim ring which we went and bought from the hotel swim shop right away. From there on out, she was good to go.

So happy to swim

Love her smile

So far things are going well. Please pray that everything continues to go smoothly especially after we travel to the orphanage tomorrow. I am a little hesitant in going there, but think she needs the closure. Matt and I both agree that if we had it to do over again we would have pushed the issue and gone to Jaxon’s orphanage. Live and Learn.

Here are the pics from the first meeting and our family Christmas together through SKYPE. (Matt rarely posts to the blog so it is taking him a bit to figure it out. That and having to take the biggest test of his career tomorrow and taking care of six kids)

This is the kids getting to see Kalia for the first time through SKYPE

She was terrified

Christmas…

A Christmas to Remember

2011-12-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in posts. We have been super busy, and trying to catch up on sleep which is not working so well. Anyway, that's not what you want to hear about, so here goes...

Kalia arrived in our room right on time, in fact, we were SKYPING with the kids back home so they were able to see her walk in and say a quick "hi."

It was pretty evident right away that she was completely terrified. She literally looked like a deer in headlights. She is absolutely beautiful and I am one proud momma.

After signing the 24 hour agreement, our guide took us along with Kalia, her nurse, and orphanage nanny to get passport pictures taken. Once that was done, the nurse and nanny said good bye for the night. Our guide, Aaron took us back to the hotel to meet with the banker to exchange money.

Kalia and I ran upstairs to get the money and took it back down to the banker and that is when she lost it. First it was just a few tears, but then it turned into a full fledged temper tantrum. Seriously, this was completely new territory for me. She kept screaming in Chinese and the guide said she was asking to go back to the orphanage, she did not want to go to America, and that her mother was not American. My heart just broke for her. Finally after being unsuccessful in calming her down we called and asked the nanny and nurse to come back.

She was throwing quite a fit, kicking, screaming, and rolling around on the couch. By the time they got there the hotel manager was talking to Kalia and trying to get her to calm down. As soon as the nurse and nanny got here, they were able to get her back up to the room (I wanted to get her out of the spotlight).

She was so upset and just kept begging them to take her back to the orphanage. After about 20 minutes of talking to her, they were able to figure out that she was scared about not being able to communicate with us. I SKYPED Matt right away and had him get Jaxon up so he could tell her that it was going to be okay (it was after 12:30 am). At first Kalia wouldn't even talk to Jaxon, but she finally listened to him. So, between Jaxon, the nurse, and the nanny, she was starting to calm down.

Because she is 10, she has the right to refuse being adopted so I was pretty worried, as were the orphanage people. They were telling her that she was going to be fine and that she was going to have good life in America.

We decided to all go get a bite to eat so we went across the street to KFC (note: it is not like KFC back home, considered yourself warned). By the time we were done eating, Kalia was doing much better so the orphanage people left and she has been completely fine since then.

Kalia, Steve and I came back to the room and Tangled was on so we watched that and Kalia was smiling and laughing outloud. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner then came back to settle in the room so we could SKYPE back home for Christmas morning.

We were able to SKYPE the kids and watch them open their gifts and they were able to watch Kalia open her gifts. She would each of hte kids' names and ages and seemed to be really excited.

So, for now things are going well. I will post about today in a later post. Jet lag is really starting to settle in and I am exhausted.

2011-12-24T15:39:00.001-08:00

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Christmas in China

2011-12-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

My father in law and I were leaving the hotel to get some dinner and this is what greeted us in the lobby. SO cool.

(This is Matt Reposting so as soon as i figure out how to get pictures up I'll get it done. Sorry for the hold up and thank you all for the prayers. Matt)

T - 18 Hours

2011-12-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

After 14 hours of plane rides, one overnight hotel stay and a 2 hour train ride, we are finally in Jinan. We just got checked into our hotel and are both exhausted.

As tired as I am I don't think I will sleep much tonight because in about 18 hours, I will finally be face to face with Kalia. She will be brought directly to our room so I am excited about that.

This has been one heck of a ride and we are finally slowing down. Notice I didn't say exiting yet. Remember the whole POA post the other day? Well, Matt took it to Chicago to be authenticated and had to leave it. It was supposed to be overnighted and in his hands Friday, but it never made it. So, we are hoping and praying that it arrives Saturday. Without the POA I cannot "technically" take posession of Kalia. However, once he gets it, he is going to scan and e-mail it to me so they at least know it is on its way. I have been told that this WILL NOT be a problem.

So, please continue to pray that all goes well and Matt is able to get the POA to me ASAP.

Also, I am not sure I am going to be able to post pictures because dummy me forgot the usb cord for my camera. I do have my phone, so worst cast scenario I can post pics that way. It's better than nothing, right?

So, the next time I post, we will officially be a family of 9! WOW, I can't even believe it!

Outta Here

2011-12-22T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is going to be super quick, I am leaving the house in less than a hour and still have packing to do.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who have helped us one way or the other. It has all been appreciated so much.

We are SO, SO blessed.

I will be blogging from China, so if you want to follow along please do.

This is going to be our families BEST Christmas ever.

Praise God!

2011-12-21T05:07:00.000-08:00

You guys are Amazing! Truly, Truly Amazing!

I honestly do not know what to say. "Thank you" just doesn't seem like enough.

I will admit I did NOT want to post another chip in or ask for anymore money! I feel like we have asked for so much already. However, Matt is the one who pushed me to do it, because honestly, without your help, I would not be boarding a plane tomorrow to meet Kalia on Christmas Day (I still cannot believe I will be face to face with her in 5 days).

I have been so humbled by the stories from people as to why they felt led to help and the events that took place in their lives after helping us. It is truly amazing and there is honestly only one person to thank and that is God. Because without him, none of this would be happening.

My e-mail is literally overflowing with words of encouragement and prayers.

I have one more immediate need to ask for before we go.

Last night while I was going through our checklist and getting paperwork ready, I noticed I could not find our Power of Attorney. Since Matt is not going, we have to take a POA with us for the adoption. I cannot find it anywhere. I e-mailed the agency and was lucky enough to get a reply (it was after hours). They are not sure they have it either. This. Is. Not. Good.

Not only does it have to be hand carried to China, but it has to be notarized, authenticated by the Secretary of State and then authenticated by the Chinese Consulate.

I board a plane tomorrow and still have SO much to do. I cannot take much more right now. IF they do not have it, we will have to drive to Indianapolis (which is 2.5 hours from us) and then turn around and drive to Chicago from there.

Matt is working and CANNOT do it, I am working today as well and literally have a list a mile long to get done. Having to drop everything to take care of this is going to add so much stress.

So, please PRAY that our POA is found and we do not have to do anymore running around or jumping through hoops to bring Kalia home.

We are SO close...

I am off to finish up last minute packing and get ready for the i-Pad drawing. I will let you all know who the winners are later today and will have all the prizes in the mail tomorrow morning.

Booked!

2011-12-19T20:43:00.001-08:00

That's right, we have booked our tickets. One way or another we are going to China.

Yes, we are still short, but we are trusting in the Lord that He will provide. I mean look at what he has done just today. (worst case scenario we just won't eat for 2 weeks, ha, ha).

I am over the moon excited about meeting Kalia and spending Christmas with her. I cannot wait to share our journey with all of you.

Matt and I are completely overwhelmed by the amount of support and prayers we have received throughout our journey.

There is NO way we could have done it without all of you.

I am exhausted. Physically and mentally so I am off to bed and will post more tomorrow. I just didn't want to end the day without sharing the good news.

My Final Plea

2011-12-19T06:40:00.000-08:00

UPDATE! Someone commented and asked if I would create a new chipin so y'all could see how God is working by watching it grow. So, that's what I've done. I named this Chip In, "Christmas with Kalia." Please make any further donations to the Christmas with Kalia Chip In

This is it, we are literally down to the wire. I am a wreck right now and I simply do not know what to do. I feel like I am walking around in a fog.

We got our itinerary last night from our agency and the only thing they are waiting for is for us to book our US to China flights which are going to be about $5000 which includes Kalia's return flight home.

We can't. We simply do not have the money. The travel fees are a bit more than we thought they would be plus the extra "surprise" fees that came up on Friday have set us back. So, it doesn't look to good right now.

And to top it off, our gotcha day for Kalia would be Christmas Day. I had secretly been hoping and praying that we would meet her on Christmas, but did not think it was even an option with Christmas falling on Sunday this year. I was completely surprised when I saw that we would travel to the Civil Affairs office on Christmas day to meet her. I have been an emotional wreck since. I honestly cannot imagine a better gift than to know that she shares her gotcha day with the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But, reality is really setting in and I just keep telling myself I need to accept the fact that it is not going to happen. I will be honest, I am throwing a pretty big pitty party for myself right now.

We have waited so long to bring Kalia home. She has waited even longer for her family. I just cannot imagine either of us having to wait any longer.

Matt and I stayed up pretty late last night researching flights and trying to find the cheapest ones. We really aren't finding anything under $2800. Finally we gave up and went to bed. I didn't really sleep much last night. If I did fall asleep I woke up thinking of ways we can get the money.

We have had many suggestions. Some have suggested credit cards. Matt and I decided a long time ago that we were not going to use credit cards for anything. So, we don't' have any. Some people have suggest that since we would be eligible for the tax refund we ask for a loan. We don't' really know anyone who cold loan us $5000 right now. So, we are still trying to figure this out and continue to pray.

It is simply NOT my nature to just give up. The more I think about and imagine the possibility of being face to face with Kalia on Christmas day, the more and more I feel the need to fight to bring her home. We have been fighting from day one to bring her home. We have fought and fought against Satan to stop us from bringing her home. I WILL NOT let him win. Especially when we are SO close. When I look at the big picture, $5000 is nothing. It is definitely ALOT of money, but when I really sit back and look at everything, it is a drop in the bucket.

My father in law is traveling with me and if we don't go this week, we will have to wait until the END of February to travel because of commitments he has with his job. Originally when we started this process and he asked if he could go, we should have traveled by summer, early fall at the latest, so his commitments were not even a factor. However, they are now.

I cannot imagine waiting 2 more months to get Kalia. This is just tearing me up inside. Emma is a mess. She has been so ready to meet her new sister. I had to take her to school late today because she had a doctor's apt and a friend called to ask how things were going. I of course started balling telling her what was going on. I tried really hard not to because Emma is so sensitive I didn't want her going to school worrying. I had to get off the phone to sign her in and as we were walking into the school, she grabbed my hand and said "does this mean we are not going to get Kalia for Christmas?" I simply answered, "honey, I don't know, but I am going to do everything I can."

The last thing I wanted to do was to ask for help, again. But at this point, I just do not know what to do. So, friends, family, readers, etc, this is my last and final plea for help. We simply cannot do it alone. I have said it many times before, "adoption takes a village."
Our tickets MUST be purchased today, so I am asking you to spread the word and pray, pray, pray. We need all the prayers we can get. If you cannot donate monetarily, pass it along to friends and family.

Matt and I have also decided that Kalia will be our last adoption, at least for awhile. Four adoption in 3 years has been not only a miracle, but exhausting in so many ways. Therefore, we have decided that once we get Kalia home we are going to start helping other families bring their children home. I will be doing fundraiser through my Cloud Nine clothing line and he is going to use his business to help as well. Adoption has touched us and blessed our lives in a way that I could have never imagined and we want to make sure that other families are able to experience those same blessings.

WOW!

2011-12-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

I am completely blown away. BLOWN. AWAY! Seriously!

I started out today completely stressed about what to do. Do we plan on going next week? Do we plan on leaving the 30th? Honestly, I had no idea what to do.

I called Matt and work and got him up to date on everything that had happened by noon today...

We got an e-mail saying our CA had been scheduled for January 4th

We got confirmation that we were getting a $2500.00 grant

Then within minutes of that, I got an e-mail from our HS agency saying that we owed them $3600.00 and it had to be paid BEFORE travel (on top of everything else we had yet to pay).

Apparently when we paid for our updated homestudy last October, it did not include the post placement fees of $1800.00. I honestly thought we had paid those, so I guess my bad.

The other $1800.00 is for the additional post placement visits that China is now requiring. Instead of 3, we have to do 6! One at one month, three months, six months, a year, three years and 5 years! Unbelievable!

I was seriously stressing by this point. Like I really needed one more thing to worry about. So, I called the only person who I knew could bring me back to some normalcy, Matt.

I told him I didn't know what to do, or what decisions to make. The plane tickets just to fly from here to China are almost $3000 because of traveling so close to Christmas. I have no idea yet what out in country fees will be.

I really couldn't make any travel arrangements because we simply didn't have all the money and I didn't know whether to take the risk or not.

Matt's response, "you are just going to have to give up control and have faith." Not what I WANTED to hear, but definitely what I NEEDED to hear.

So, I did! I told myself the same thing I have been saying since we started this process, "if it is God's will, then He will provide." I said a quick little prayer in the car asking God for some sort of sign about what we should do.

I picked up Andrew from school, and came home to see what I could do. I called all the places we have applied to for grants. It doesn't look like we will be getting any more grants before we leave since it is so close to us traveling and some of them don't even have their review processes until after Christmas. There is one that we should be hearing from by or before the 20th.

As I was sitting here looking at flights, I got a text from a fellow adoptive mom asking about our chip in and if it really just jumped up to meet our goal. While I was reading her text I also got an e-mail saying that our Chip in goal had been met.

Someone donated $3300 which put us over our goal. The note attached to the donation was "God wants you to go get your daughter."

Truly amazed. Beyond Blessed. I simply don't know what else to say! God is definitely in control and He is definitely driving this train.

We are getting so close. So, so, close. However, with the additional cost of our post placements, and the ridiculous costs for travel, we are still in need.

God is all over our adoption, He has been from day one. I know if anyone can make this happen it is Him and for that reason I am staying faithful that He will provide, and we will leave December 23rd giving us THE best Christmas gift ever...

Not out of the Woods

2011-12-16T09:58:00.001-08:00

First, THANK YOU ALL for your thoughts, comments and prayers. We have definitely benefited from them. Matt and I are beyond blessed by the amount of people we know are praying we get Kalia home safely.

However, we are NOT out of the woods yet.

The good news is, is that our agency was able to get us a January 4th CA (consulate apt), which means we (my father in law and me) would leave NEXT Friday, the 23rd.

The bad new is, is that we don't quite have all the money we need to be able to leave by then.

When we first started the adoption process back in September, 2010, we had every reason to believe we would travel during the 2011 summer. We soon realized that summer travel was out so we began praying for an early fall travel. Fall came and went and we prayed and prayed to travel before Kalia's 10th birthday. Well, her birthday came and went as well and we are still waiting.

Here we are only 9 days from Christmas and we have been given the best gift of all. Not only did we receive our TA, but our agency was able to book our CA and get us on a plane all before Christmas. Honestly, I cannot think of a better gift than knowing that in less than 10 days I could be meeting my daughter whose picture I have stared at for 18 months.

I should be making travel arrangements now. I should be making arrangements for the other kids. I have a list that goes on and on of things that need to get done. But I can't.

From day one we knew Kalia's adoption was going to be the biggest leap of Faith we have taken, but Matt and I both felt up to the challenge. It has definitely been a challenge. It has been a true testimony of our faith, our perseverance and our trust in God.

So, I am asking you all to please spread the word about our fundraiser. I know right now is tough on many people with Christmas and everything. Please pray that we are able to get the funds we need to book out flights, as well as everything else.

Finally!

2011-12-15T13:53:00.000-08:00

I posted yesterday how I feel like I am an overdue pregnant woman (emotionally of course). I have been a wreck inside. I think I have done a pretty good job of hiding my emotions lately. I just keep telling myself over and over that we will travel when the time is right.

I have had a feeling that we would get our TA this week. Typically they come towards the latter part of the week, so I was really counting on hearing something today. I have been stalking" rumor queen all day as well as other boards to see if others have posted about getting TA.

Typically our agency gets their DHL packages early afternoon so I knew if I didn't hear something by 2 or 3, today was not going to be our day.

I had a friend stop over this afternoon (a fellow adoptive parent) as she and I sat and talked, I watched the minutes tick my on the clock. My phone rang a few times and I couldn't check it fast enough. Looking back I probably looked like a lovesick teenage girl waiting for the boy to call. Thank goodness my friend has been through the adoption process, so she knows that I am not really crazy, just anxious.

2:00 came and went. 3:00 came and went. Just as the clock turned to 4, my phone rang. It was the agency. I had actually called them earlier to ask a couple of questions so I just figured they were getting back to me about that.

Basically they were calling to let us know that we have...

Honestly, I am surprised some of you didn't hear me screaming! I simply cannot believe it. We are finally soooo close to finally bringing Kalia home.

When asked when we would like to leave, I said "tomorrow." Obviously I was joking (sort of). Seriously though, we they are asking for a CA (Consulate Apointment) for January 3rd, 4th, or 5th, which means we could possibly be on a plane headed for China next Friday or Saturday. If that doesn't work, then we could leave December 30th which is still only 2 weeks away!

The possibility of traveling as early as next week seems almost impossible. I say almost because I know better than anyone that if it can be done, there is only one person big enough to make it happen. I know it can be done, I've seen stranger things happen in much shorter periods of time.

Everything seems so surreal right now. We have waited SO long to get to this point. We have gone through SO much to get to this point. So to finally hear the words "your TA came today" is almost like a dream.

There are only 4 more days left on our i-Pad 2 fundraiser. We obviously cannot go to China unless we have all the funds. So, I am to the point of begging and pleading with you, my readers to help us. If you can't help monetarily, PRAY. PRAY that we are able to raise the funds to leave within the next two weeks. PRAY that we will soon be united with our daughter whose picture we have been staring at for almost a year and a half. She has spend way too long in an orphanage without a family. PRAY that we can ring in the new year as a family of 9!

This pretty much sums it up...

Here are the details about the fundraiser...

FIRST PRIZE: Apple i-Pad 2, cover in your choice, and a $50.00 i-tunes gift card. This would make an incredible gift for someone or yourself for the holidays. Plus, just think, every time you got on it you would think of Kalia and how you helped her to be united with her family.

SECOND PRIZE: $100 gift card to Thirty One

THIRD PRIZE: This gorgeous necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs

Close up of bracelet

Fourth Place: Another beautiful necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs (I love this set. It is to antique and vintage looking).

Close up of bracelet

Fifth and Sixth Place will be a custom dress or outfit of your choice from my Cloud Nine Design Label. I will work with you to choose a style and fabric of your liking. These will be one of a kind outfits.

Here's how it's gonna work...

All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

OVERDUE

2011-12-14T10:46:00.000-08:00

I just added a video below of Kalia dancing. I love watching this and know you will too.

That pretty much sums up how I feel. I feel like I am nine months pregnant with no end in sight. I was two weeks overdue for both Blake and Emma, so I know all too well the physical and emotional feelings that go along with it.

I am so ready to be done! I feel like this adoption is like a never ending roller coaster...

We certainly were not planning on adopting again anytime soon. I knew that eventually I would return to China for another daughter. I knew when I left China with Jaxon and Drew that somewhere was a little girl that I would one day call mine. I also knew she would be older, closer to Emma's age.

I kept these thoughts and feelings to myself because I knew Matt would probably have me commit ed for even bringing it up, so it was just best not to say anything. So, I just "looked" and I advocated for other kids.

I first saw Kalia's face back in July of 2010 (yes, we had only been home with the boys since May). I thought she was absolutely beautiful, but her special needs terrified me so I wouldn't even open her file. She was listed as having spina bifida, tethered cord, and Hep. B. Those were all needs I thought were way too complicated for our family.

I still said nothing to Matt, or anyone else for that matter.

Then, a few weeks later, I was in the car going through the bank and I got this overwhelming feeling that I needed to go home and look at her file. Honestly, I had pretty much given up on adopting again so soon after coming home with the boys. I knew that financially there was NO way we could do it. But at the same time, I could not shake the feeling that I needed to look at her file.

So, a day or so later, I opened her file, read through it, and didn't really see anything that stood out. Her birthday day was December 1, 2001 which was my due date for Emma (she was born December 11), but other than that, there wasn't any flashing lights or arrows pointing anything out, but something deep within me told me she was my daughter. I can't really explain it, but I knew wholeheartedly that she was meant for our family.

I was also able to watch some videos of her during an interview with our agency's staff as well as see her dancing. I was sharing her videos with a friend one day and became very emotional while watching them. I started crying and when my friend asked me what was wrong, I just said, "she is my daughter, I know she is my daughter, now I just need to convince Matt."

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I decided to wait it out until August. I told myself that if she was truly meant for our family, then she would still be there in August. The kids would be back in school and things would start settling down.

So, August came and went and she was still available so I started bringing up the possibility of adopting again and sure enough, Matt thought I was insane. I mean we hadn't even been home with the boys six months. I let it go, and just prayed that if she was meant to be our daughter, God would open Matt's heart once again.

In September of 2010, we submitted out LOI for Kalia and set a goal to be DTC by January, February at the latest.

We needed to schedule out 6 month post placement for the boys so we just did that and a homestudy update all at once. The social worker came out and saw how great the boys were doing and approved us to add Kalia to our home as well. We were on cloud nine.

And then the games began...

Because Matt is considered a disabled vet, he uses the VA hospital for all his medical needs so he had to go through them for a physical. Apparently when requesting a physical everyone who is anyone needs to sign off on releasing the information. So, what should have only taken a week or so to get, took Matt over 3 months to get.

Our goal of being DTC pretty much went out the window. We submitted our I-800A application in February which took forever because of our paperwork being misplaced. But finally, it was approved and we were able to move on to the next step.

In an effort to save time and money, I opted to hand carry our paperwork to Indianapolis to get it authenticated. What was supposed to be a day trip turned into a bit more, and even more.

Finally, it was April and we were ready to be DTC. Our dossier was set to go out on April 26th, and then we were hit with the ultimate roadblock. Our family was hit with a bombshell like you couldn't imagine. I honestly wasn't sure we were going to come out on top of this one, but we relied solely on our faith that if it was His will for Kalia to join our family, then He would make it happen.

Finally, on June 3, 2011 we were DTC! We were all over the moon. We were all so excited to finally be moving forward.

We were officially waiting for our LOA. The average wait time for LOA was about 30-45 days so we were thinking we would travel during the fall. I guess I should have expected us to NOT be "average" by now. After waiting 132 days, we received our LOA! Apparently our dossier had been "misplaced."

We kept on truckin though and submitted our I-800, got it back fairly quickly as well as our approval from the NVC. Of course I was calling and checking up on it daily.

As of December 2, the only thing that we are waiting for is our TA. Boy does it feel good to say that.

I honestly cannot believe that after 16 months, we are still waiting for Kalia. As I look back on everything that we have gone through to get to this point, it is almost unbelievable. I NEVER would have thought we would still be waiting to bring her home.

Last year at this time I was thinking how awesome it was going to be to have her here with us this year for Christmas. I was excited at the thought of celebrating her 10th birthday with her. Emma was looking forward to sharing the first days of school with her.

We have watched as other families have brought there children home who started the process long after we did.

It has truly been heartbreaking for me. I have had many pity parties for myself. Many nights where I have gone to bed praying and praying for God to speed things up for us so we could get Kalia home. I have had moments where I have questioned whether we were doing what He wanted. I have shed more tears this past year than I probably have in a my lifetime.

And then reality hits me and I have to remind myself that as much as I think I am, I am ultimately NOT in control. I must remind myself that He is the one who set us out on this path. He is the one who pointed us in the direction of Kalia, and He will be the one that will be there when I am finally able to wrap my arms around Kalia for the first time. It WILL happen. It obviously won't happen in my time, but when it does, it will be perfect because His timing is always perfect.

I got a phone call today from one of the places we applied for a grant. They were calling to do a phone interview. I think it went pretty well, it sounds like they are going to give us a grant, there is just one more step before it will be set in stone. One of the things she asked about was if we got TA today, how quickly would we be ready to go. I told her that the only think that is standing between Kalia and me is our TA, oh, and money. She laughed and said that she was hoping they would be able to help us with that.

Seriously, though, after 16 months of waiting, it is hard to believe that we are finally this close and yet it seems like we are still so far away. I am hoping and praying we get TA this week. My biggest fear this whole time was that we would get TA and not be able to travel because we wouldn't have the money. I am starting to think that is going to come true.

I know things are tight right now for alot of families, and Christmas probably isn't the best time to be asking for help, but I know it can be done.

We are giving away and iPad bundle along with some other pretty awesome prizes. Please check out our fundraiser to see how you can help there to be one less orphan in the world and to make a few Christmas wishes come true.

When we brought Mylee home in May of 2008, I had no idea the impact one little girl could have on me and our family. What started out as a dream of mine has turned into so much more. I cannot imagine our family without any of our kids whether they have come to us by birth or adoption.

We have told the older kids (Blake, Jaxon, and Emma) that Christmas is going to be pretty scarce this year. We just don't have the money and what we do have is being saved for out adoption fund. I asked Emma if she could have one, just one thing for Christmas what it would be. All year long she has been asking for an i-pod touch so I thought for sure that is what she was going to ask for. She surprised the heck out of me when she answered with "the only thing I really want for Christmas is Kalia. I really wish she could be here."

Reality and Updated Pictures

2011-12-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

So, I've been a little down in the dumps lately. I think the reality of us going to China before the end of the year is finally setting in.

Traveling over Christmas would be so hard in regards to not being with my family, but it would make everything else so much easier in regards to Matt and the other kids. The kids are off school for two weeks for Christmas break as well as Matt's mom (she is a teacher) so she would be able to help with the kids while Matt is at work. I have no idea what we will do if we go after Christmas.

In order for us to leave on the 23rd, we need a few things. First, we need out TA asap. Our Article 5 was picked up and sent to Beijing on Friday. I have seen TA's take as little as three days and as long as a month to come in. We are also in need of travel fees. Unfortunately, adoption is expensive and we have and continue to work very hard to raise the funds necessary to bring Kalia home. (You can read about our latest fundraiser here). We also need a miracle. But I think what we need most is prayers. Please pray that out Christmas wish comes true, and that I am on a plane before the end of the year. He hears them, I know He does. So, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

I realize that His plan may not be the same as mine, but I just keep praying that we are on the same page.

I posted earlier about how I desperately wanted to send a cake to Kalia for her birthday, but Matt and I decided not to because we are trying to save every penny to put towards bringing Kalia home. Within minutes of posting about that, I had several people contact me wanting to pay to send a cake to Kalia for her birthday. They didn't want us to have any regrets about not sending one. So, someone donated and was specific that it go towards a cake for Kalia for her birthday. It was a little late for her birthday, but you know the saying, "better late than never."

We used Ann at Red Threads to have the cake sent and also requested updated pictures of Kalia. Ann e-mailed us back and said that she would send the cake, but couldn't guarantee pictures. Honestly, I didn't expect pictures since we have just asked for some through our agency and was unable to get them. So, I was completely surprised today when I was checking my e-mail while waiting to pick up Andrew from school.

I have to admit, when I saw these pictures, I couldn't help but cry. She is absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait to bring her home. Despite the sadness I feel about possibly not being able to travel before Christmas, I can't help but smile when I look at her beautiful face. And I couldn't wait to share the pictures with all of you.

Kalia Faith De Le

I asked Jaxon what they were doing and he said that when it is your birthday, you get a wish and this is how they are making their wish.

She has such an angelic face.

Not sure what she is pointing at, but the writing in pink says "my dream is to be a dance teacher." That is what she said in an interview when asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.

All I Want for Christmas

2011-12-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

I can't get this song out of my head. I've been playing it over and over in my head for about two days. I can't help thinking about the millions of children all over the world who are without a family, especially this time of year.

I found this music video and now I really can't get this song out of my head. It literally breaks my heart thinking about all the kids without families. Children all over the world who have no idea what it is like to have a family. Children who have no idea what it feels like to be kissed on the cheek. Children who have never heard the words "I love you." Children who who don't know the warmth of being tucked in at night. Children who have never known the love and happiness of a "real" family.

Christmas is such a magical time for so many reasons. The sights and sounds and smell put smiles on faces all over the world.

So, you all know from my post yesterday what my Christmas wish is. I want nothing more than to get on a plane to bring Kalia home. I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and hug her tight. I want nothing more than to whisper "I love you" in her ear. I want nothing more than to know that she and I are together forever.

But, I also want that for so many other families and other children. There are a ton of families fundraising right now to bring their children home. There are tons of families that are just as close as we are if not closer to traveling. The only thing standing in many of their ways is money.

So, since it is the season of giving, I am asking my readers to give a little something. It doesn't have to be alot, every little bit adds us and in the end, it all helps. I am not asking that you specifically help us out either. Like I said, there are tons of families tyring to grow their families who need help. Hop on over to one of their blogs and help them. My wish is obviously to get Kalia home, but it goes beyond that. I would love it just as much knowing that other families are one step closer to being united with their children.

So, instead of driving through Starbucks today ( I know it's cold) to get one of these

Or instead of using the easy way out for dinner with this

or this (although this is one yummy lookin pizza)

Give a little Christmas cheer. Donate that money that you would have spent to help a family bring their child home. Donate that money to help a child have the chance at a family that they so deserve.

$4.00 for a cup of coffee may not seem like alot to you, but it is everything to a child without a family.

A Birthday Wish

2011-11-30T19:21:00.001-08:00

I have dreamt of this day. I have had visions in my head of how we would celebrate. My visions are no where near reality. I have thought of the memories that would have been made today. The smiles. The laughter. This is not how it was supposed to be (or at least in my dreams)...

Ten years ago today a beautiful baby girl was born.

I wish I knew the circumstances of her birth. Where was she born? How much did she weigh? Did she cry right away? Did she have hair, or a shiny bald head? These are all questions that I will never have the answer to.

For nine years and eight months she lived without a forever family. Does she even know today is her birthday? Has she ever celebreated, been given a gift, or even a cake?

Kalia turned 10 today. Last year at this time we were all thinking and looking forward to spending her bithday with her this year. It is hard to believe she isn't here. It's hard to think that she has spent another birhtday alone. The good thing is that we are 100% sure she will not turn 11 without us with her to celebrate.

I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around my beautiulf daughter and know that will no longer spend another birhday alone. She will no longer go to bed without hearing "I love you."

We are beyond the point of being excited to get her home. Just today I had three people ask me if we had her yet, or we knew when we were going. I am staying hopful that we WILL travel by the end of the year.

We got our Visas today, and tomorrow our Article 5 will picked up and sent to Beijing. From there, we are just waiting for our TA (travel approval from China). Once we have that it is just a matter of booking a CA (Consulate Appt.). Our agency still thinks there is hope. It looks like TA's are coming in pretty quickly right now.

What does all that mean? Basically, if all goes according to MY plan, we will be on a plane to China on December 23rd. That is only three weeks away, folks. THREE WEEKS! EEEK! Just thinking about it gets me all excited.

Then reality sets in. If China were to give us the go ahead to travel and our agency is able to work it out for us to leave on December 23rd, we would have to say no. Why you ask? Well, to be 100% honest, we just don't have the money. It is not something we are proud of. Never in a million years did I think we would be this close to traveling and yet be so far from traveling.

Travel expenses have gone way up, and even more so during the holidays. We have been through the ringer or as some may put it he*@ and back to get Kalia home. I cannot imagine being given permission to travel only to turn it down.

We are still waiting to hear back about a couple of grants, but other than that, we got nothin. And to top it off, the insurance company is talking about totaling out our van which is just another nightmare to add to the list.

So, in honor of our daughter turning 10 today, everyone who donates at least $25 will not only be entered to win one of the awesome prizes listed below, but you will also receive a bracelet handmade by Emma. She has been making these bracelets as a fundraiser for Kalia since last year. Originally she got to keep 1/3 of the money to use while she was in China, but since there is no way (the cost is astronomical) she is going, she has been putting 100% of what she makes into the Kalia jar.

We had planned to send a cake to Kalia's orphanage, but decided not to because of the cost. This has been really hard for me because it has made me feel even further away from her. I have been longing to see pictures of her with her cake ever since we knew there was no way we were going to travel by her birthday. So, since she didn't get to blow out her candles and make a wish, I am going to do it for her. My wish for her (and for our family) is that we will ring in the New Year together as a family of 9.

These bracelets are awesome and last forever. Matt wears one every day and has for almost a year now. These can be made in just about any color. If you would like to order a bracelet, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net. These would make GREAT stocking stuffers. Blake has been selling them at school in their school colors and we have also had some teacher buy them as gifts for their students.

Here are the details about the fundraiser...

FIRST PRIZE: Apple i-Pad 2, cover in your choice, and a $50.00 i-tunes gift card. This would make an incredible gift for someone or yourself for the holidays. Plus, just think, every time you got on it you would think of Kalia and how you helped her to be united with her family.

SECOND PRIZE: $100 gift card to Thirty One

THIRD PRIZE: This gorgeous necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs

Close up of bracelet

Fourth Place: Another beautiful necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs (I love this set. It is to antique and vintage looking).

Close up of bracelet

Fifth and Sixth Place will be a custom dress or outfit of your choice from my Cloud Nine Design Label. I will work with you to choose a style and fabric of your liking. These will be one of a kind outfits.

Here's how it's gonna work...

All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

A Whirlwind of a Week

2011-11-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

Before I get started, I wanted to let you all know that something was going on with the last Chip In button so I have made a new one. I was getting e-mails from people saying it wasn't working or wasn't always showing up on the sidebar, so I just made a new one. If you used the last one, your names have been recorded and will go in on the drawing for the i-Pad, jewelry, and gift cards. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you can check it out here

Because of the holiday last week, it was a short week for everyone. The kids only went to school on Monday and Tuesday and that is all I worked. We were all looking forward to the relaxation and break. In fact, we (Emma, my mother-in-law and I) had planned a trip to Chicago on Wednesday for Emma's birthday (December 11th).

It seems lately things do not always work out the way we want. Tuesday morning Emma woke up sick and didn't go to school. She was cold, sweaty, and she couldn't keep anything down. At first I thought (was hoping) it was just something she ate the night before. I didn't want her to miss out on her Chicago trip. She has been saving her money for China but since we can't afford to take her, she was going to go to American Girl. As the day went on it was pretty evident that it was some sort of nasty bug because by noon that same day Matt was home in bed with the same thing.

To kick off the Thanksgiving holiday, Mylee's Kindergarten class had a Thanksgiving Program. For weeks we have had to listen to the songs that the kids sang so I felt like I was a at a concert singing along. She had such a great time. She LOVES performing. A few parents even came up to me afterwards and told me how much they enjoyed watching her and all her enthusiasm. She really gets into it.

I know I'm biased, but she was the cutest little Pilgrim there.

Because the program was towards the end of the day, I picked up Gabe and Mylee from school. Usually if it is nice out they just walk home (we live about a block from the school). Just as I was turning into our neighborhood I felt a bump, and heard a screeching sound, they screaming and crying from all four kids (I had Mylee, Gabe, Drew, and Isaac, the little boy I watch with me). I looked over and there was a SUV literally in the side of my van. Luckily everyone was fine. The kids were scared, but no one was hurt. Apparently the lady of the SUV thought I was turning left even though she said she knew I was turning right. She went to pass me and instead t-boned me and drove me off the side of the road. I felt so bad for her, she was so nice and overly concerned about making sure everyone was okay. She kept saying over and over "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." I just kept telling her it was okay and that no one was hurt. Apparently Gabe got tired of hearing this because he chimed in with "she said it's okay, geez."

Anyway, she has taken full responsibility, but we were without my van all week and were put into a four day sedan which is obviously not big enough for our family. Luckily our Thanksgiving plans were in town this year.

My van...

Her car...

We heard back from the body shop today, and unfortunately it isn't great news. They may have to total our van. Her insurance is going to do their own appraisal so we are hoping they will just work it out so it can be fixed. It took us forever to find a van big enough for our family that we could actually afford. The good news is that her insurance is paying for our car to be upgraded to a mini van so even though we still won't all fit, we can make it work a little better.

We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family. My sister, her husband, and their daughter, Riley came up. We all ate until we were stuffed, then ate some more. And yes, my sister and I were one of the millions of people standing in line and shopping all night. The funny thing is neither one of us really got anything, we just had more fun watching and talking with other people who were as crazy as us.

We finished off the long weekend by putting up our Christmas tree. This was bittersweet for me this year, and I think for the kids as well. Last year we talked about how we would have Kalia home to help us this year, and instead, we were hanging her ornament on the tree again.

So, all in all, we had a great week despite the wreck. Please pray though that this gets resolved quickly and that we will have OUR van back sooner than later.

Tis the Season

2011-11-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

Rather than waiting until I have several new desings from Cloud Nine, I thought I would go ahead and post them as I get them done. Especially those that are seasonal.

I just whipped this up today, and let me tell you, the pictures do not do it justice. This is absolutely adorable and Mylee cannot wait to wear it (I told her she had to wait until after Thanksgiving).

This is the Holly Jolly and is available in any size.
Shirts are $35
Dresses are $45

Close Up

This is another design I finished this week. This one is perfect for ALL winter long, not just through the holidays.

This is the Snowflake Princess
Shirts are $35
Dresses are $45

Please e-mail me at mmyag@comcast.net if you are interested

WHEW!

2011-11-17T06:51:00.000-08:00

WOW! Things are really starting to move for us, finally. After having to wait for what seemed like forever (142 days) for our LOA, we are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. I found out yesterday that our Visa Petition for Kalia has been forwarded on to Guangzhou and will be delivered to the Consulate either Friday, or Tuesday at the latest (they do not take accept any on Mondays). Once it is dropped off, our agency's contact will pick it up exactly two week to the day of having dropped it off. So, that means that either on December 2nd or December 6th, our Article 5 will be picked up and send to CCCWA so they can issue our TA (travel approval).

It looks like TA's are taking about 2 weeks, sooooo, it all continues to go as planned (for me), we will be on a plane December 23rd or 24th and will meet Kalia on December 26th!

I am really, really, getting excited. Last night I was able to SKYPE with a family that is in China getting their daughter who is Kalia's best friend. They have been in the orphanage together for a very long time. We had hoped that we would have been able to travel together to get the girls at the same time, but it didn't work out that way. Anyway, it was awesome talking with them last night. We showed Yiera Kalia's picture and asked if they were friends and she got the biggest smile on her face and said yes. We of course also let her know that we were Kalia's family and that we would be bringing her home very soon.

Talking to them last night really made it all seem real. For so long we have dreamed about getting Kalia and bringing her home. We have been staring at her picture for almost a year and a half. This has been a heck of a ride, and last night was a little overwhelming knowing that in possibly a month, we will be meeting our girl for the first time. I cannot wait!

So, with all of that being said, we are kicking off our final fundraiser. With the possibility of traveling in about six weeks, the reality is also setting in that we are still short quite a bit of money. At this time we are still planning on only me going unless a miracle were to take place and the money is also there for Jaxon. Matt's dad is also going so I won't be completely alone.

With the holidays coming up, these would be some excellent gifts...

FIRST PRIZE: Apple i-Pad 2, cover in your choice, and a $50.00 i-tunes gift card. This would make an incredible gift for someone or yourself for the holidays. Plus, just think, every time you got on it you would think of Kalia and how you helped her to be united with her family.

SECOND PRIZE: $100 gift card to Thirty One

THIRD PRIZE: This gorgeous necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs

Close up of bracelet

Fourth Place: Another beautiful necklace and bracelet set from Premier Designs (I love this set. It is to antique and vintage looking).

Close up of bracelet

Fifth and Sixth Place will be a custom dress or outfit of your choice from my Cloud Nine Design Label. I will work with you to choose a style and fabric of your liking. These will be one of a kind outfits.

Here's how it's gonna work...

All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

~ FRIENDS ~

2011-11-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

The dictionary describes a friend as the following...

friend-noun

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile
4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.
5. a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

I think I have friends who fall in each category of their definition. I have very few "close" friends. Not that I am not a likable person, I just have always had only a few very close people I turn to.

I have many people I would consider friends in every other send of the word. People from the kids' school, Church, etc. I have friends that I see or talk to everyday.

Then there are those people whom I have never met, but would consider them a friend as well. Most of those people have blessed my life through adoption. These are people who know what it truly means to adopt, and have total faith that He will make it happen. These are people I e-mail, text, or call for prayers or whom do the same for me. I have never "met" them, but sure hope someday I will get the chance.

Yesterday I was going through the mail. Emma always gets it after school and was pretty excited because there was a new American Girl catalog in it. As I was sifting through the bills, junk mail, bills, magazines, and more bills I came across a small yellow envelope that looked like a card of some sort. I looked at the return address which was "Friends, our city, and zip code." To be honest, I thought it was some sort of advertisement or coupon from a local business so I sat it aside for a minute. Once I was through with everything else I went back to it, opened it and was surprised to see a money order for $500 with a note attached.

We have know clue who or where this came from. We have never had anything like this happen before with any of the other three adoptions, so we were quite surprised. More than anything, I think Matt and I are both in awe of the generosity of people. Those we know ad those we don't. This money will help immensely with bring Kalia home. Every little bit helps, it all adds up.

So, to our "friend," Thank You. We appreciate this more than you know. You have once again helped us to see that we are on His path, and that He will make it happen. You have helped us get one step closer to bring our daughter home.

I know I have talked a little about Matt and I continually asking God of we are on the right path with Kalia's adoption. Right out the door, things have not gone as planned or taken two and three times longer than average. Just this past weekend we talked about how the doors seem to close, but they NEVER fully slam shut. There has always been glimmers of light from cracks int he doors and then for whatever reason, they swing back open and we are once again walking through doing our best to get our girl home.

We truly believe everything happens for a reason even if it is not clear to us now what that reason is.

Throughout the adoption we have planned on taking Emma and Jaxon knowing that there was a really good chance only one or neither would actually get to go. They both desperately want to go, for completely different reasons. Unfortunately, we did have to let Emma know that there is just know way she is going to be able to go this time. She is upset, but does understand. With the costs of everything going up, it just isn't possible.

I applied for my Visa today. We should have it back by next Friday. Jaxon's application was not part of the package. The decision to take or not take Jaxon is still up in the air (sort of). As of now, he isn't going. We simply cannot afford it. Matt and I talked again this morning about it and have decided to go ahead and plan as if he isn't going and if it is God's plan for him to go, then He will let it be known. If we need to we can apply for an expedited visa for him, but didn't want to spend the money now if he may not be able to go.

I really want him to go. I know he really, really wants to go, but the reality must come down to money. I know he will be upset and disappointed. I know he will probably think us not taking him is a personal attack. But, I keep telling myself that Kalia is the reason for the trip. She is the reason we are traveling back to China.

So, for now we are just sitting tight, waiting to see what happens. If it is meant for him to go, then it will all work out.

Getting Closer

2011-11-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

So today's my birthday. "Happy Birthday to me!" I wasn't planning on posting that it was my birthday, but then I got the best birthday present. Our USCIS Officer called me first thing this morning to let me know our I-800 has been approved and is on it's way to us!

YEAH!!!!! She said to give it a few days and call the NVC on Tuesday to see if they have received it and when they will be issuing that approval. So, if all goes well, and my prayers are answered, we will be submitting our paperwork to the US Consulate in Guangzhou by the end of the month.

We are continuing to pray that we will travel over Christmas break. Actually, as much as I would hate being away from home for Christmas, I am praying we will leave December 23rd which would put us meeting Kalia on December 26th. I cannot think of a better Christmas gift than meeting my beautiful daughter.

We are still up in the air on who (if anyone) to take. My father in law and I are getting together this weekend to fill out our Visa applications so we will have to make a decision by then.

Progress and a Dilemma

2011-11-07T12:04:00.000-08:00

WOW, I cannot believe how busy I have been sewing. I have one more dress to make then I will be caught up with my current orders. I will be starting on new designs this week to debut hopefully by the weekend.

I have had alot of inquiries on how the girls' bedroom is coming along. Well, we are making progress, just not as quickly as planned. Matt has been putting alot of time in at work so he hasn't been home to work on it. We took advantage of not having any plans this weekend and worked at home. I sewed, and Matt worked upstairs.

What started as a simple project to make a bed for the girls has resulted in our entire episode looking like a scene from Hoarders. I'm not kidding. Three of the four bedrooms are now part of our remodel.

We knocked out the wall between the boys' and the girls' rooms to create an extra large walk in closet for all three girls. In doing so, that left the boys with no closet.

This is the girls' new closet and also where Mylee and Emma are sleeping until we get there new beds done. This used to be the closet from Emma's room into her closet. It has now been walled up.

This is the other side of the now walled up closet door from what is now Gabe and Drew's room.

And since the boys were now without a closet, the only thing we could do was create an opening on the backside of a small walk-in closet in our room (we also have a large walk-in closet so it isn't any big deal). We were using it mostly for storage. So, we walled up the door on our side, and rehung the door on the boys' side.

For now the boys' bed is in the room, so at least they have a place to sleep. The first couple of nights Gabe was not thrilled with having to sleep in a "girly" room, but he has gotten over it.

This is the latest picture of the beds. Matt just needs to build and attach another set of steps, and do a little more drywall work and this room will be ready to prime. Our goal it to be putting paint (not primer) on the wall by this weekend.

Now, for the dilemma...

We need to get our visas for China. Our original plan was to take Jaxon and Emma. Matt is not going this time, but his dad is instead. I am still holding out that we will be able to travel by the end of the year. I just got off the phone with USCIS to see what our I-800 status is and luckily, I was able to talk with the Officer that will be working on it and she will be doing it tomorrow and told me to call her back tomorrow afternoon. If all goes well, it will be on it's way to the NVC by the end of the week.

It's no lie money has been tight with this adoption and we are still short quite a bit of money to complete it. So, as of right now we are not sure we will be able to take Jaxon and Emma or even just one of them.

I really wanted them both to go for different reasons. Jaxon because I really wanted to see where he is from and meet his friends. Plus, he has been so excited to go back and visit with his friends. He would also be a BIG help with translating for Keliah which would probably help her with her transition. I wanted Emma to go so she could see where he brothers and sisters are from. I wanted her to experience their culture hands on. And to be completely honest, I wanted her to see the firsthand why we have been called to adopt. I also thought it would be nice for Keliah to have another girl in the mix, one that she could relate to in age.

I guess it didn't dawn on me until today that we needed to make a decision so quickly. It costs $140 for the Visa application plus another $35 for the courier fee. So, it would be $175 for each Visa. Do we just say "NO," they aren't going, or risk the money ($350) to get their Visas?

Any thoughts, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Now I'm off to more sewing...

What I'm Workin On...

2011-10-27T11:48:00.001-07:00

So I know I have been giving out some teasers but I am finally able to share with you my newest endeavor....

Cloud Nine is my clothing company. These are custom, one of a kind dresses and outfits for your one of a kind daughters. I love dressing Mylee in outfits that are different from what everyone else is wearing so I decided to start making things for her. It started out as me just making outfits for Mylee, then for friends, now complete strangers are asking about her clothes. So, after some serious thought, I decided to offer my designs for anyone to buy.

I am absolutely loving it. Sewing is another one of the things on my "I will never do " list. My mother in law bought me my first sewing machine and at first I kind of dabbled in sewing, but in the last year I have really picked it up and really enjoy making clothes for Mylee (Emma won't wear anything I make).

So, below are some of the designs I have available for sale. Some are very limited because I cannot get more of the fabric. I can do custom orders as well. For example of there is a specific fabric you want, let me know and I can work with you to come up with something amazing. Any of the designs listed can me mixed and matched. In other words, if you like the fabrics on the knot dress, but like the peasant style better, I can switch it up.

You can also follow me on Face Book

Now for the goods...

The "Mirabella" This is a peasant style shirt with 3/4 length bell sleeves. This is VERY limited. I only have enough to make one more of these because the main fabric is out of circulation and cannot be found. This is $35.00

These corduroy ruffles are a must. These can be made in any color and will go perfectly with any peasant. $25.00

The "Olivia Peasant" This goes really well with the brown corduroy ruffles pictured above.
Shirt is $35
Dress is $45

The "Riley Peasant" This is a short sleeved peasant and super cute. The yellow is a great creamy yellow. The fabric for the ruffles is out, but it looks awesome with the brown corduroy (see, they are a must). This can be made with long, 3/4, or short sleeves.
Shirt $35.00
Dress $45.00

The "Farmers Market" Knot. I LOVE these fabrics! This is another one that is VERY limited. This is perfect for fall. This can be made as a shirt too and paired with coordinating ruffles.
Dress is $50.00

The "Land of Autumn" This is a peasant dress with 3/4 length sleeves. This can be made as a peasant shirt or know at well.
Dress $45.00
Shirt $35.00

The "Noel" This is the perfect dress for Christmas. I LOVE the fabrics on this dress. They are so classic for the Holidays.
Dress $45.00

Please feel free to e-mail me at mmyag@comcast.net

I will be posting new designs to FB so make sure you "like" my Cloud Nine page. I would LOVE it if you could spread the word as well.

All money made from these sales will go towards bringing Kalia home!

A Day to Remember

2011-10-25T09:48:00.000-07:00

I am So far behind posting! I wanted to post on Friday, but things have been crazy busy here all weekend plus the kids were out of school Friday and Monday for fall break.

Friday I had parent teacher conferences ALL day and by all day, I mean ALL day. I started at 8:00 a.m. and ended at 4:00 p.m. I did have about a two hour break so I could take Blake to the Endocrinologist for his Diabetes. Other than that, ever half an hour I had a conference scheduled between two schools.

All the kids are doing really well and all their teachers had wonderful things to say about them. This was one proud mom! Jaxon's teachers were very impressed with him especially knowing he has only been here a little over a year. He is doing extremely well in his classes. Blake's teachers all had great things to say about him, how much they like having him in class, and how he is quite the leader. Emma is in 4th grade this year and doing excellent as well. She is a great student and has many friends. Gabe is doing well. He is learning to read (although he could care less) and will begin working on math skills in a few weeks (that he cares about, he loves math). And Miss Mylee....she is quite popular with the students and teachers. Her teacher said everyone loves Mylee and she always has something to say. She loves to learn and is very bright. Andrew hasn't had his parent teacher conference yet.

Out of all the conferences I think there was one that I truly will NEVER forget. Blake and Jaxon are not in any classes together, but they do have the same math teacher. I was scheduled to meet with him at 9:15. He was running a bit behind which was no big deal. We had just gotten into the conference when my phone rang. Now, normally I would have turned it off, but when I looked at who was calling, I had to answer it.

My phone rang at 9:26 a.m, I apologized to the teacher, but explained to him that I had to take this call...

Me: hello??????

Our agency: Mandi, are you finally ready for some good news?????

Me: well, that depends, is our LOA here?

Agency: I just printed it off, it is in my hands now!!!!

Me: (crying) Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Can I call you right back, I am in the middle of a parent teacher conference.

Agency: call me when you are done.

So folks, after 142 of waiting, and waiting, and waiting, the wait is finally over. China said "YES!"

As for the conference, I think the boys' math teacher thinks I am some kind of loon. By the time I got off the phone, I was a wreck, I was crying and shaking. I explained to him (briefly) what was going on, but I don't think he quite understood.

By the time the conference was over, I was on cloud nine. I was so stinkin happy I could hardly contain myself. Our I-800 was overnighted yesterday. Now we just need to hope and pray that we receive our approval at a super fast pace.

Thank you ALL for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words during this excruciatingly long wait. You have all made it more bearable.

Keepin Busy

2011-10-19T06:44:00.000-07:00

In an effort to keep busy and try not to think about our LOA (yeah right), we decided it was time to make a concrete decision about how we were going to get Emma, Kalia, and Mylee all in one room.

We have tossed around so many ideas, but nothing seemed "right.". Saturday morning while laying in bed I had a vision. So, we decided to head off to the home improvement store. We had a plan (at least I did).

We decided to Gabe and Andrew switch rooms with the girls and build a new bed that would work for all three girls. I had an image in my head of what I wanted and luckily Matt was able to put it on paper and begin building it.

So, we spent most of Saturday and Sunday moving everything from the two bedrooms into our bedroom until they are done.

We started in what was the boys room...

This is such a cool mural. I am really dreading painting over it, but the girls insist.

Daddy's little helper

Our little monkeys

and our little reader

This is not the finished product, but hopefully you get the idea. Mylee's bed centered on the floor and Emma and Kalia's beds are in the corners. There is a 4 x 4 platform in between their beds that will be like a nightstand. The spaces under their beds will be like little cubbies. They
will have curtains on them and will a place the girls can do to read, do homework, or just play. Matt even put can lights up so the girls will have plenty of light in there. They are SO excited.

We have been talking about how to decorate their "new' room. I am thinking of doing black and white polka dot bedding and painting the beds white. As for the walls, we are thinking of painting the wall behind the beds a really fun pink and the rest of the walls white.

While Matt was working on the beds, I was working on trying to decide how we were going to get three girls' clothes into one closet. So, I started brainstorming.

This is what I came up with...

Blake is having WAY too much fun with this.

We knocked out the wall between the boys' and the girls' closets making one big closet for all the girls to share. The boys will get a new closet that is in our room that we use for storage. It is supposed to be a "his" closet. We can easily put a door on it from the boys' room creating a "new" walk-in closet for them.

Everything is a work in progress right now, but our goal is to be able to have everything primed by the end of this weekend.

I will post more pictures as we go along.

As for our LOA, there is still NO LOA and we are on day 140 of our wait. Our agency is getting no where with finding out what is going on. They were supposed to have it last week, but it never showed up. I am still hoping it will arrive this week. I am holding onto my faith that we WILL be a family of 9 before the end of the year.

No Words...

2011-10-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

I had received an e-mail from our agency earlier this week letting me know that they had a verbal commitment from CCCWA that they would receive our LOA this week (by fax).

I was certain I would be getting THE call today. I was certain we would be celebrating today.

My hopes were just shut down. I just got off the phone with our agency and there is not fax. In fact, there in China contact was supposed to be e-mailed as well and she received nothing.

I am so upset and disappointed. Our agency is so apologetic. It's not their fault. I know they are doing everything possible to get us to our daughter.

I feel like we have been through h*ll and back with this adoption. I keep telling myself over and over it will come, it will come in His time. But I have to be honest, it's not always easy. It is comforting knowing there are many of you praying right along with us.

Keep praying...

Racism and Adoption

2011-10-12T10:19:00.000-07:00

I have struggled with whether or not to share this, but after much deliberation, I have decided to. I try not to get too personal on here, but today is going to be an exception.

My grandmother passed away early Sunday morning. She has been suffering from Alzheimer's for sometime now. She had a stroke and a heart attack sometime last week and is being laid to rest today.

My sister and I are the only family members unable to attend. Not because we can't, or won't, but because we are not allowed. We have been ostracized from the family for the "poor choices" we have made in our lives.

I'm sure you are wondering what kind of choices a person could make that would cause a family to completely disown them.

The fact that I have 3 children from China is considered a good enough reason. The fact that my sister has a daughter who is bi-racial (half black, half white) is good enough reason.

The obituary for my grandmother said that she is survived by her husband, three children, 6 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. That is all true except there are 11 great grandchildren. My sister's daughter and our Chinese children were left out.

We have not been welcome around them for quite awhile. As a matter of fact the last time my sister spoke to my grandmother was to tell her she had a daughter. At first she was excited, then my sister went on to tell her that her baby's father was black and my grandmother's response was "I will always love you, but I just can't handle that, please don't call again."

I won't go into any specific details, but I always knew growing up how they felt about other races. They were not shy by any means to share their opinions.

I have tried to not let it bother me over the years, but these past few of days have really made me see the reality of it all. I have told myself over and over it is their loss. They don't know what they are missing. I do believe that. But it saddens me knowing that they will not have any memories of their great grandparents. It saddens me to know that my grandparents have missed out on some pretty awesome kids.

When I was little I remember thinking how I wanted to be just like my grandmother when I grew up. She always looked perfect from head to toe. Her hair was done just so, her make-up was flawless. Her outfits were perfectly put together complete with matching shoes. And she always had jewelry on that was given to her by my grandfather. Perfection, or so I thought.

Although she is gone, she will not be forgotten. I will remember the good times I had with her. The times we went shopping together, or the times I would sit in awe at the amount of shoes she had in her closet. I won't forget the time she helped me pick out my first bra. It couldn't be just any bra, it had to have a flower or bow (her words). I won't forget the summers we spent swimming in their pool and hanging out with our cousins. I won't forget the time they came to see me in college for grandparents day which was also the first time she saw Matt for the first time. Or the the time she held my daughter, Emma for the first time. These are just a few of the memories I will remember.

What I won't do is base my life or my decisions on someone elses ignorance. I can't imagine our family without all of our children. The color of their skin does not define who they are.

Love should be unconditional. Love shouldn't come with strings attached. Love shouldn't be based on skin color or the shape of a persons eyes.

I pray that she is at peace and that is finally able to see people for who they are, and not by the color of skin they have. I pray that she is able to see our family, see the love we have for ALL of our kids, and see that what she has missed out on. I pray that she is finally able to see the beauty in ALL people and that someday we will all be able to walk hand in hand.

And the Winners Are...

2011-10-03T06:39:00.001-07:00

Before I post the winners of the Vera Bradely Fundraiser I want to thank EVERYONE for your comments, thoughts, prayers, and donations. It will be because of all of you that we are able to bring our daughter home. We still have a long way to go, but because of you, we are closer.

I also wanted to give a quick update on our LOA. Today is day 124 of our LOA wait. I am convinces we are going to have the all time longest wait for LOA soon. We did find out that our LOA was not received by our agency on Friday which means it will be another couple of weeks before we get it. There is a small sliver of hope that it may still come this week, but not likely. Our agency said that because they asked for it to be rushed it would have been faxed to them last week and since they didn't get it, we probably won't get it until after the Chinese holiday. So, once again we are stuck at a red light waiting. Please continue to pray that we get our LOA soon and that we are able to bring Kalia home before the end of the year. Having Kalia will be at the top of my Christmas list year.

Now for the winners. We used Random.Org to pick the winners. I will contact the winners by e-mail.

1. Buttercup Pattern goes to Carmen S.
2. Purple Punch Pattern goes to Timothy T.
3. Puccine Pattern goes to Laurelle S.
4. Bali Gold Pattern goes to Carmen S.
5. Carnaby Pattern goes to Lyndal M.
6. Make Me Blush Pattern goes to Jason H.
7. Call Me Coral Pattern goes to Carmen S.
8. Medley Tote goes to Connie J.
9. Palm Beach Gardens goes to David P.
10. Day and Night Pattern goes to Brandi T.
11. Loves Me pattern goes to Rebecca D.

Again, THANK YOU to all who have helped us get our daughter home. We are blessed beyond measure.

Thankful Thursday ~ Red Light, Green Light

2011-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

WOW, it's been a while since I posted a Thankful Thursday post...

Ok, here's the deal. I feel like we have been playing the game Red Light, Green Light ever since we started Kalia's adoption. In the beginning everything was a green light. We were racing to get get everything done. Despite the many roadblocks we encountered along the way, we continued to push forward.

Then just a day before we were supposed to be DTC we came up on a major red light. One that could have potentially cost us to lose our daughter. But, we fought. We jumped through the hoops, and in the end, we came out on top, knowing more than ever that Kalia was our daughter, and we were on His path. After 30 days of being at a standstill, we were given the green light and were DTC!

Little did we know that that green light was going to be short lived. We have been stuck on a red light for 120 days as we wait for our LOA! You read that right, as of today, we have waited 120 days for our LOA and it looks like we may a quite a few more days to wait.

Our agency was able to find out what was going and it appears our LIN (log in number) was issues incorrectly causing this ridiculously long wait for our LOA. It has been fixed which should mean we are speeding through a green light, right?

WRONG!

October 1 starts a week long holiday for China (it is National Day) which means from October 1st to October 7th, everything is shut down including CCCWA. This basically means that our LOA will most likely NOT be issued before their holiday.

Now, our agency and their in China contact has asked that our LOA be issued BEFORE the holiday but there have been go guarantees given. So, we are once again stuck at a red light.

IF it is issued before the holiday, our agency is expecting to know by tomorrow. Because of this LOA delay there is no way we will have Kalia before her 10th birthday on December 1st. Actually at this point, we are not even sure she will be home for Christmas.

PLEASE, PLEASE pray we get our LOA tomorrow or at least know that it has been issued. We have already endured so much to get our daughter home, my only prayer at this point is that she be in my arms for Christmas whether that be here or in China. Please spread the word, the more prayers, the better.

The fundraiser end tomorrow so there is still time to get in on a chance to win an awesome Vera Bradley bag or purse.

No News is Good News, Right...?

2011-09-26T11:31:00.001-07:00

WRONG!!!!! Well, Friday came and went and we still don't have our LOA. I was SO hopeful that Friday would be out day. Words cannot describe my sadness and disappointment right now.

Every day that goes by is one less day we will spend with Kalia.

Every day that goes by is one more day she goes without a family.

I simply do not understand it. It is so hard to stay optimistic, but I just keep telling myself over and over, "In His time, In His time, be patient, He will know when the time is right."

We did get some sort of an update Firday. I'm not really sure if it is good news or bad. We are still waiting for more information.

This is what our agency had to say...

"Your reviewer is just back from a 2 week leave, but does not know why you do not yet have LOA as your dossier is not currently in review room. (He just said “he doesn’t know” where your dossier is). Our in China contact is going back to CCCWA to talk to them about your case and find out where it is and why there is no LOA yet, but I scanned in your “In process” screen shot, LID info, and gave them your PA. Our contact is also going to get them to fax it (LOA) if it is not yet sent out.

Im so sorry… We were all hoping for this week, but it looks like it may be a bit longer…"

I just feel like we have already been through h*ll and back with this adoption. Like it wasn't enough that a close family member tried to sabotage the whole adoption now we are learning that our dossier is no where to be found. Really?

I did get a comment the other day from a reader who quoted a bible verse that has brought much encouragement...

"For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late." Habakkuk2:3

And this is how The Message Bible says it ~And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time. Habakkuk 2:3

It WILL come. It WIILL come in His time. And when it does, you can bet we WILL be over the moon.

Please pray that things start looking up for us and that our LOA comes quickly. The longer it takes, the longer Kalia has to wait for a family.

Fundraiser Update:

The Vera Bradley Fundraiser ends THIS Friday so there is still plenty of time to get your chance to win one of these awesome bags, whether it is for yourself or a friend. Remember, Christmas is just around the corner and what a joy it would be to know that not only are you putting a smile on the recipients face, but you will also be putting a smile on the face of a nine year old girl. Please click on the picture on the sidebar for more details. We are only 33% away from meeting our goal.

UGHHHHH

2011-09-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

I got a call today from our agency in regards to our LOA. I so wish I was posting that it was good news. Actually she was calling to let me know they did receive an LOA, but it was not ours. They are not sure why it is taking so long for us to get ours. They have inquired to see if there are any "issues" with our paperwork and have been told no, everything is fine.

The family that got LOA yesterday went to "in process" a week AFTER us so our agency is once again checking with their in China contacts to make sure everything is okay. They are still hopeful it will come later this week.

We are officially on day 111 of our LOA waiting and it is so frustrating. I keep telling myself "everything happens for a reason and when it is our time, that is when everything will come together and we will meet Kalia."

So, keep praying that we hear something soon. I am SO ready for this wait to be over.

Mylee's Miracle

2011-09-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Before I share Mylee's miracle story, for those who are keeping track, we are officially on day 108 of our LOA wait. Seriously, 108 days of waiting. It is getting sooooo old. Every week week I pray this will be the week, and every week passes and I become even more disappointed than the last. Something tells me this upcoming week could be THE week, at least that is what we are praying for.

I've had a couple of people e-mail me privately letting me know they are thinking of us and praying for us. They have shared that they have followed our blog from back when we were bringing the boys home and have prayed for us since then and continue to do so. Between those e-mails, and the comments left, that is what is keeping me going right now. Honestly, it is so uplifting to read the positive comments or to know that complete strangers are praying right along with us that we are united with our daughter very soon.

I am in complete awe of how much our fundraiser goal has jumped within the last week. I am really starting to think that once we meet our goal we will get our LOA (or at least that is what several other people have suggested). I would love to have met our goal by the time we get LOA and maybe that is what God is waiting on, so lets give Him a good reason to bring us one step closer to Kalia. We still have quite a ways to go, but just the fact that we are over 50% of the way is so humbling. Nothing is too big for God, and I am certain that He is going to let nothing, especially money stand in the way of me wrapping my arms around my daughter.

Now for Miss Mylee's Miracle...

Oh Miss Mylee is a riot. We had her 6 month check up from her last surgery this past Monday at Riley Childrens Hospital with the infamous (to Mylee) Dr. Loder. He truly is an awesome doctor and luckily Mylee LOVES him. On the way down she colored a picture of him in his white lab coat, complete with his name tag. She put glasses on him and made sure his hair was gray as well. She most definitely pays attention to detail.

After looking at her legs he looked up at me and said, "I feel terrible, I just don't think we made much progress with this last surgery. After everything we put her through, I was really hoping for better results." I told him we would not have know has we at least not tried. So, we went on to discuss further treatment. Mylee's knees still do not bend compltely and probably never will. She can sit on her knees, but that is as far as she can get. As for her ankles, her right isn't too bad, but her left (that is the one they worked on back in February), is still really, really tight.

The plan for now is to have her re-checked every 6 months to see her growth pattern. Then when she is 8 or 9 he may want to cut into her bone right where her leg and foot meet and put some type of flexible piece in there to create more flexibility when she is walking. Mylee heard this and about flew off the table saying "no, no, you are not going to cut my bone." After calming her down and explaining to her that we weren't going to do anything right then, she was a little better.

We also discussed how her feet are so wide near her toes and very narrow at her heels which makes it extrememly difficutl to find shoes to fit her right. So he had the orthodics guy come down and make a heel insert to put in her shoes. They also put a little lift on them hopefully keep her from falling as much. Once they were done and in her shoes they had her walk back and forth across the room to make sure they were okay. As she was walking she looked up and very seriously said "it's a miracle." The ortho guy looked up and asked what she said and when I told him, she siad "yep, it's a miracle, I can walk good."

That girl cracks me up! She is always coming up with something and never misses a beat. She was adamant about me not forgetting to wear her special heel things to school on Tuesday. The first thing she said when she walked in the door was "mom, they work, I didn't fall much today at school. Aren't you so proud of me!"

Oh, and here is a little sneak peek of what is to come next week...

99

2011-09-08T05:59:00.000-07:00

99 Days of waiting...

99 Days of stressing...

99 Days of wondering...

99 Days of frustration...

99 Days of hoping...

99 Days of anxiousness...

99 Days of disappointment...

99 Days of praying...

It has been 99 days of waiting for our LOA (letter of acceptance). I think this is the hardest part of waiting. We have done everything we can and now we just have to sit back and wait for China to give us their final approval to adopt Kalia.

Back when we started this adoption I never in a million years would have thought we would still be waiting. Our original goal was to be DTC in January or February at the latest, putting us at traveling over the summer. Obviously that didn't happen since we are still waiting.

By the time we were ready to DTC we were ecstatic. We were finally going to be one step closer to bringing our daughter home. Then the unthinkable happened just a day, ONE day before we were supposed to be DTC. This setback was like nothing we had ever faced before but it definitely did not stop us from pressing one. In the end we "won" and were finally DTC on June 2.

I honestly had no idea we would still be waiting for our LOA at this point. I thought for sure we would have out Ta by now and just be waiting to travel. When China decided to let families reuse their dossiers within a year everyone was so excited because it was going to save so much time and money. For starters, it has save us no money! And as for time, it has actually taken us twice as long to get out LOA, which in case I haven't mentioned, we still don't have.

I spoke with our agency a few weeks ago and was told that as of 9/16 we were "in process" which means our dossier is being looked at. We were told that they were expecting our LOA within a couple of weeks. I just keep telling myself "any day now, any day."

But the true reality is that even if we get out LOA today or even tomorrow, I am terrified. I am scared to death that we are not going to have the money we need this time. I have shared my fears with Matt and he keeps reminding me that we have never had the money, but when we need it, it is always there. So, I keep praying, and putting all my faith and trust in God that He will provide.

We just got an e-mail from our agency yesterday saying that the Consulate appts are booked until October 11th. Then the fall trade show falls at the end of October going until November 6th. So, at this time, the absolute earliest we could travel would be after the trade fair. My birthday is November 9th, so my new goal is to be in China celebrating with my new daughter. That would be the ultimate in birthday gifts, don't you think?

Our fundraiser is still going strong, but we still are lacking in funds. Our immediate need is $3000.00. That is what we need to pay the agency in order to move forward. We have been awarded a matching grant from Brittany's Hope for $1000 (we raise $500 they will match). So, our immediate need is actually $2500.00. For now, that is the only thing that is standing between us and our daughter. Obviously we need more than that to complete Kalia's adoption, but we are taking it one step at a time and only focusing on what we need right now.

The Vera Bradley Fundraiser is still going so please spread the word. I know it can be done, I have seen it time and time again. I wish I could offer some really cool prize this time, or give away something free with every donation, but unfortunately, I can't.

What I can do though, is guarantee you that Kalia will be joining a family that is over the moon about bringing her home. I can guarantee you that she will be loved beyond measure. She will be an opportunity to live her life to its fullest. She will have brothers and sisters that will laugh with her, cry with her, and yes even fight with her. She will be raised to know Jesus and to learn that without Him nothing else matters. Point blank, she will have a family, one that will do whatever it takes to bring her home.

Extending

2011-09-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

This is not a post I had wanted to write, but we just felt there was no other choice. After contacting all the contributors and getting their okays, we have decided to extend the Vera Bradley Fundraiser for a bit longer. Obviously I would love to be packing up purses right now to their new owners, but we need to raise a little more money.

These purses and bags were NOT donated, we purchased these on our own knowing they would be used for an adoption fundraiser. So, we have to at least cover our costs.

I wish with all my heart and soul that we didn't have to fundraise. It is not something I look forward to. I wish we could just get out the checkbook and be done with all the money, but the reality is we can't. I know there are families out there that can and at times I envy them for that (I am only human). There are times when I question whether we are doing the right thing (again, only human). I mean come one, four adoptions in three years? If someone would have told me three years ago when we came home with Mylee we would be going back not just for one, but for three more, I would have thought they were nuts.

The journey to Kalia has been filled with roadblocks, hurdles, and even a few mountains, but we have made it through all of it. With each setback we have doubted, we have questioned, and we have prayed about whether we are supposed to be doing this. But with each setback, we have also been convinced that we are right where we are supposed to be, doing exactly as He had intended. He has showed us time and time again we are Kalia's family and that we just need to continue to have faith in Him.

So, we are extending the original Vera Bradley Fundraiser in hopes that we can come a bit closer to our goal. As of today we are on day 92 (YES, 92!) of our LOA wait. According to our agency, as of August 16th, we were "in process" so we should be getting our LOA very soon which will hopefully still put us traveling in October/early November. We still have quite a bit of money to raise, which I know we can do. We have done it before and I have seen much more raised in much less time. But like so many others, we can't do it alone.

The new chipin in has been added to the right and I am working on a button that you make copy and paste. Please spread the word about our fundraiser and more than anything, please pray that we are able to be united with Kalia very soon.

Below are the pictures of the bags and purses in the fundraiser. There will be a total of 11 winners. These would make great gifts with the holidays coming up. Just think, not only could you be giving the gift of a great bag, but by making a small donation, you will also be giving a little girl the greatest gift of all, a family.

#1. This is the Buttercup pattern. This set includes the Honor Roll duffel bag, Tootsie purse, Please Hold wallet and the Make Me Up makeup bag. This would make a great set for a little girl or even a tween.

#2. This is the Purple Punch pattern. You will get the Saddle Up purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#3. This is the Puccini pattern. You will get the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Taxi Wallet.

#4. This is the Bali Gold pattern. This set includes the Stephanie purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#5. This is the Carnably pattern. This is the Stephanie purse, the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Euro Wallet.

#6. Make Me Blush pattern. This is the Reversible Tote purse, and the matching Taxi Wallet.

#7. This is the Call Me Coral pattern. This is for the Cha Cha Hadbag, and the matching Best Bud wallet.

#8. This is the Patchwork pattern. This is for the Medley Tote.

#9. Palm Beach Gardens Pattern. This is for the Pretty Tote purse.

#10. This is the Day and Night pattern. This is the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matchin Best Buds Wallet.

#11. This is the Loves Me pattern. This is for the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matching Best Buds wallet.

I know pretty cool, uh? These are some great bags for both big girls and little girls. Emma has one of the Tootise purse and Best Buds wallet and LOVES them. In fact, she was begging me to let her keep the Buttercup set, but backed off when she realized it was to bring Keliah home.

So, here's the deal. All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Wordless Wednesday ~ Faces of Drew

2011-08-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

My New Ride!

2011-08-26T16:41:00.000-07:00

I have a new ride!

No, nothing like this. Come on now, is this practical for a soon to be family of 9?

Nope, not this either. This is totally NOT me, and never will be.

This is a little more practical, but still not it.

This is more my speed, and I would love to have one, but my new ride is way cooler.

Are ya ready? First let me just say that I really debated on whether or not to post this, I didn't want anyone to be jealous. But, I felt that you all would want to share in the excitement.

Drum roll please....

This folks is THE TLC Turning Leg Caddy and let me tell ya, it is da bomb! It is fully loaded! It comes with adjustable padded knee rest, can make turns and has handle bar breaks. But wait, there's more! It also comes with a cut ligament in your heel, extreme pain, and the the inability to bear any weight on your foot for 2-4 weeks (hoping for 2). Please forgive me for "gloating," but I just had to share.

Seriously though. If you remember this post, then you probably know what I am talking about. I have/had Plantar Fasciitis and have been dealing with it on and off for the past two years. I have tried cortisone shots, have custom orthotic inserts, a night splint and of course the fashionable boot. None of the above worked and my last option was surgery. I really, really did not want to want to have surgery, but after discussing it with my Dr. we decided it was the best chance I had to get back to some sort of normality with my foot.

So, this morning I said goodbye to this lovely "shoe" (for at least 2-4 weeks)

and had a Plantar Faciotomy. Basically the ligament that runs across my heel did not stretch when I walked which caused extreme pain at time. So, the Dr. cut a notch in the ligament to allow it to stretch. He said everything went fine but that the ligament itself was very thick as well as whatever rests on top of it which could be why it wasn't healing.

I have been feeling pretty good until now. Before the surgery they gave me some sort of block that numbed me from the knee to my toes. Within the hour the block has been wearing off and I am starting to feel some pain in my heel so I will be taking some pain medicine soon, I imagine. From what I have heard from others that have had this surgery it is extremely painful, but so worth it. I am counting on it.

I will stay in this cast for at least 2 weeks, but depending on my healing process it could take up to 4 weeks. After that I will go back into my boot for about a month or two and then back into my tennis shoes. I am just praying that I am back in a regular shoe by the time we go to China. Please pray for a speedy recovery. With 6 kids I am not sure how the whole non weight bearing this is going to go.

Drew's Fish Tale

2011-08-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Leave it up to Drew to keep things exciting. I tell ya, that kid is a riot! Besides the fact that he is absolutely adorable, and has the most kissable cheeks, he is also an accident waiting to happen.

The other day he asked if he could ride his bike with one of the boys I was watching who is 9. So, they went out to get his bike and within minutes Zach came running in yelling that Drew had a fishing hook stuck in his finger. So I go running out and sure enough, Drew is crouched down in front of the garage with a fish hanging from his finger. The garage door wasn't even open so I am assuming the hook was caught under the door.

Poor Drew is on the ground screaming so I yell for Jaxon and he comes and opens the garage door. I tried to pull the hook out not knowing that is a "no no." But, as soon as I did, I realized it wasn't going to come out so we loaded Drew into the van and headed to the E.R.

By the time we were out of the addition Drew had stopped crying and was just checking over the hook hanging from his finger.

Luckily they weren't busy so they were able to get us in right away. I had Jaxon with me and he texted Matt while we were on our way so he was able to meet us there. If you have never seen a hook removed, all I can tell ya is it is interesting. They numbed up his finger with 5 shots, but the fish part off the hook and then pushed the hook all the way through his finger so they could pull it out. Apparently because of the barb, you can't pull it back out, instead it has to be pushed all the way through. I felt so bad for Drew. He was screaming like I have never heard him do before. Although they numbed it, they had to numb it more because he was feeling it. But, as soon as it was out, he was fine. They cleaned the area, gave him an antibiotic and sent him home with a band-aid on his finger. He was ready to go home and show off his awesome camouflage band-aid to the other kids.

The nurses and doctors kept asking him if he caught a fish and how big it was. So you can imagine how funny it was when I told them he wasn't fishing, just trying to get his bike out of the garage.

As soon as we got home, the kids were waiting on him, but he didn't have time to talk about it because he was more concerned with wanting to ride his bike.

Fundraiser Update:

The Vera Bradely Fundraiser is set to end this Friday, but it hasn't done as well as we had hoped so we may extend a few more weeks. We were hoping to at least cover the cost of what he paid for all the purses. These are beautiful purses and would be great to keep or to give away as a gift. But, the best thing about them is knowing that by making a donation you have helped another child be united with her forever family. We have overcome many, many hurdles with Kalia's adoption and we are still remaining faithful that He will provide.

Below are the details about the Vera Bradely Fundraiser to bring Kalia home. Please e-mail me at mmyag@comcast.net if you have any questions.

I have also been getting tons of e-mails about the clothes I posted a few weeks ago. YES I will be selling more. I am working on fall designs now and I can promise you it will be worth the wait.

Sorry, one more thing. We just found out that we have been awarded a grant from Brittany's Hope for $1000.00. This is a matching grant which means we need to raise $500.00 and they will match this up to $1000.00. We are so thankful for this grant and cannot wait to see what else He has planned for us.

#1. This is the Buttercup pattern. This set includes the Honor Roll duffel bag, Tootsie purse, Please Hold wallet and the Make Me Up makeup bag. This would make a great set for a little girl or even a tween.

#2. This is the Purple Punch pattern. You will get the Saddle Up purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#3. This is the Puccini pattern. You will get the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Taxi Wallet.

#4. This is the Bali Gold pattern. This set includes the Stephanie purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#5. This is the Carnably pattern. This is the Stephanie purse, the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Euro Wallet.

#6. Make Me Blush pattern. This is the Reversible Tote purse, and the matching Taxi Wallet.

#7. This is the Call Me Coral pattern. This is for the Cha Cha Hadbag, and the matching Best Bud wallet.

#8. This is the Patchwork pattern. This is for the Medley Tote.

#9. Palm Beach Gardens Pattern. This is for the Pretty Tote purse.

#10. This is the Day and Night pattern. This is the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matchin Best Buds Wallet.

#11. This is the Loves Me pattern. This is for the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matching Best Buds wallet.

I know pretty cool, uh? These are some great bags for both big girls and little girls. Emma has one of the Tootise purse and Best Buds wallet and LOVES them. In fact, she was begging me to let her keep the Buttercup set, but backed off when she realized it was to bring Keliah home.

So, here's the deal. All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Back to the Daily Grind

2011-08-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

After 65 looonnnnnng days, the most wonderful time of year came today when I was awakened at 6:15 a.m. by my alarm clock. Yep, you guessed it, the first day of school. Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids dearly and love having them home during the summer, but it was time. I was ready, and believe it or not, they were ready too.

Don't let these faces fool you, they were all ready to go. Jaxon is actually trying NOT to smile and Mylee is upset because she had just found out that I was taking her to school and she was not walking with Gabe and Emma (Mylee started late today so the parents could go with them for the first 2 hours).

I think of all the kids, Mylee was the most excited. She is starting Kindergarten and will be going all day. I truly think the highlight of her day will be eating lunch at school. That is all she has talked about all summer. "I'm going to kindergarten and eat lunch." Between eating lunch at school, and recess, I think the whole learning thing will just be a bonus for her.

Gabe is in 1st grade this year and was the first one ready to go this morning. He was out on the front porch at 7 this morning waiting to walk to school (they don't leave until 7:30). Trust me, this will not be the norm for the year. In fact, he is the hardest to get up and going in the morning and I am not looking forward to tomorrow.

Emma was ready too. She was ready to go see her friends. She was so excited she had a terrible time of going to sleep last night. Of course that was after she tried on several different outfits, shoes, painted her nails, and messed with her hair. She is in 4th grade this year, and if last night was any indication of what we are in for, we are in trouble, BIG trouble.

School starts at 7:50, but this being Mylee's first day she didn't have to be there until 9 and had to bring a parent for the first 2 hours. This is a great way to get the kids comfortable. However, Miss Thang had no problems. She is so ready for school. The teacher had several different activities for the kids to do with their parents and Mylee was eager to jump right in.

She has her very own locker which she thinks is pretty cool.

Sorting things by the letter they start with. She had no problem with this and was more than willing to help those that did.

Tracing and coloring.

She had to draw a picture of herself. I love that everything is the correct color. She is quite into details. In fact, by the time the picture was done she had drawn grass, dirt, clouds and of course the sun.

Right before it was time for the parents to leave the teacher had them all sit on the circle rug to say goodbye. Mylee had no problem in this area either, in fact as I was getting ready to walk out the door I hear Mylee ask when they were going to eat lunch.

Sorry for no individual pics of Jaxon and Blake, as you can see, I was lucky to get the two that I did get. They are both going to be Freshmen this year which makes me feel very, very old. Both of them were ready to back and see their friends as well. They are both playing football this year so we will definitely be busy in a couple of weeks with football games.

I can't wait for everyone to get home so I can hear all about their first days!

Cha Cha Change!

2011-07-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

We are making some changes! Nothing too crazy, I promise. First, we have decided to extend the end date of the Vera Bradley Fundraiser. It was supposed to end tomorrow, but givn the fact that we haven't even raised half of what we need, we felt we should keep trying. I have relisted all the details below regarding the fundraiser. ALL the money raised will be going to pay for the orphanage donation.

As of today we are on day 51 of our LOA wait. We truely have no idea how much longer it could take. Originally we were told that once we were DTC, things would mroe than likely be much faster since we were reusing our dossier from Jaxon and Drew, but so far, NOTHING has been any faster.

I will admit as much as I want to see an e-mail letting us know our LOA has arrived, there are days when I am hesitant to check my e-mail for fear that it will be there. Don't get me wrong, we want Keliah home as soon as possible. We cannot wait to get her home and make her a part of our family. But, the reality is that we just don't have the money. To be honest, if we got a call today saying we could leave tomorrow to get her, we would have to say "no." I get so stressed out when I think about it, and am constantly reminding myself that God has shown us more than one time that we are on the right path, and that I just need to let go and let Him remain in control. But it is SOOOOOO hard.

So, if you cant' help out monetarily with the fundraiser, we completely understand. But if you can spread the word, that would be just as awesome! I know this can be done, I have seen time and time again. I know in the end, He will provide, and I just keep telling myself to be patient.

This adoption has been by far the most difficult, the most stressful, and just plain hard. But I also know that at the end, when I am able to wrap my arms around Keliah, all the ups, all the downs, all the roadblocks, the mountains, and even the snags, will be worth it.

"Faith sees the invisible,believes the incredible,and receives the impossible." ~Unknown~

The other change has been with with a name. When Matt and I decided to take yet another huge leap of faith, we knew instantly that the name Faith seemed so appropriate. We knew instantly once we lad our eyes on her that her middle name would be Faith. And surprisingly, her first name was not a hard decision either. We had heard the name Keliah and both fell in love with it. What we didn't know, was that by spelling it the way we did, it would create so much confusion. Unless they have heard it, not many people know how to pronounce her name which is pronounces Ka lee a.

So, in an effort to make it easier on everyone, we are thinking of changing the spelling. Instead of Keliah Faith, we are thinking Kalia Faith. I actually sat and wrote it over an over the other day, both ways and think that the new spelling is so beautiful when written out in cursive.

What do you all think? Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

So, that is it for the changes, for now at least. Please be sure to check out the awesome Vera Bradley sets up for auction and PLEASE spread the word.

#1. This is the Buttercup pattern. This set includes the Honor Roll duffel bag, Tootsie purse, Please Hold wallet and the Make Me Up makeup bag. This would make a great set for a little girl or even a tween.

#2. This is the Purple Punch pattern. You will get the Saddle Up purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#3. This is the Puccini pattern. You will get the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Taxi Wallet.

#4. This is the Bali Gold pattern. This set includes the Stephanie purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#5. This is the Carnably pattern. This is the Stephanie purse, the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Euro Wallet.

#6. Make Me Blush pattern. This is the Reversible Tote purse, and the matching Taxi Wallet.

#7. This is the Call Me Coral pattern. This is for the Cha Cha Hadbag, and the matching Best Bud wallet.

#8. This is the Patchwork pattern. This is for the Medley Tote.

#9. Palm Beach Gardens Pattern. This is for the Pretty Tote purse.

#10. This is the Day and Night pattern. This is the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matchin Best Buds Wallet.

#11. This is the Loves Me pattern. This is for the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matching Best Buds wallet.

I know pretty cool, uh? These are some great bags for both big girls and little girls. Emma has one of the Tootise purse and Best Buds wallet and LOVES them. In fact, she was begging me to let her keep the Buttercup set, but backed off when she realized it was to bring Keliah home.

So, here's the deal. All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Splish Splash

2011-07-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

It has been unbearabley hot here in the midwest the last couple of weeks. We have tried so hard to avoid the heat, but after a couple of days we were getting cabin fever so I took the littles to the new park and splash pad in town (the older three were in Myrtle Beach with G'ma and G'pa).

They had so much fun going from one thing to the next.

Yes, Gabe was there too, but he asked me not to take any pictures of him. He has been sick off and on and that day happened to be an on day, so he wasn't feeling too well. We are in the middle of trying to rule things out with our doctor, but still haven't ruled anything out. Our of no where he will have major stomach pains, vomitting and diarhea that will last anywhere from a day or two to over a week. It goes away as quickly as it comes and he will be fine for a while and then out of no where, he is sick again. We have ruled out all types of bacterias, celiacs (glutton allergy), etc. So, prayers that we figure out what is going on with him would be greatly appreciated.

We are on day 48 of our LOA wait. We are hoping and praying we hear something soon. Supposedly since we are reusing our dossier from the boys things are supposed to be faster, but I haven't heard from amny people that they are. So for now, we just sit and not so patiently wait.

I think we are going to extend the Vera Bradley fundraiser. As you can see, it is not doing so well. Please help us by spreading the word about it.

WOW, That was fast!

2011-07-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was completey not expecting for the things I made to sell so quickly, but am so glad they did. I have even taken some custom orders already. Thank you to everyone who purchased and who sent people my way.

I still have this available in a size 2T $25.00

This is still available in a size 3/4. $35.00

This is the newest addition and is availble as a set in a size 4 for $25.00. These are capri length ruffles and are SO cute. Mylee has this set and is constantly complimented on it. I can do the ruffles without the tank top for $18.00 in any size.

Please e-mail at mmyag@comcast.net Remember, all sales go directly into our adoption fund for Keliah Faith.

Just the Beginning...

2011-07-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

One of the things I said I would NEVER do was sew. I had enough if it in Jr. High Home Ec. I rmember we had to make a sweatshirt and wear it for a grade. I'm not sure, but I am pretty sure mine was lopsided. It was pathetic. Really, really pathetic.

And then came Emma. I loved seeing and buying all the creations people were selling on line, but it was getting kind of expensive. My mother in law sews, she has even made me custom window coverings. She used to do upholstery, and still does it now and then. So, I approached her about helping me applique some things for Emma. Instead, she said she would help me, and went out and bought me a sewing maching for my birthday.

I will admit, at first I was a bit freaked out about the whole thing. I didn't want to sew, I wanted to design it and have her make it. But she insisted on me doing it. So, I started with appliqueing things on big overalls, jean skirts. Then moved on to appliqueing on shirts. From there I started making skirts (which when I look at now, I chuckle because they were so badly made).

Anyway, I kept at it here and there. Mostly making things around the holidays, but Emma never really liked wearing anything I made, esecially as she got older. Enter Mylee. Mylee will wear anything as long as it's not going to slow her down. She has become my very own walking manaquin.

So, I started makeing more and more things for Mylee and more and more people would cmment on her outfits. I was constantly getting requests to make things to sell and finally a few monts ago decided to go with it. I have been so busy making things for others by word of mouth that I haven't even had to advertise until now.

So, here's the deal. Below are a few things I have made up and ready to go. Each picture has the size and price ( just add $4.95 for shipping). 100% of the money will go to Keliah's adoption fund. I will also be posting some of the custom sets I can do and fabric choices later this week. This is just the beginning...

I mentioned earlier that we are on day 43 of our LOA wait. As much as I would love to see it come any day now, I am also reluctant to get it knowing how much money we still need to come up with in such a short amount of time. I keep reminding myself that God is in control and His timing is perfect, so when He is ready, we will be too.

Please e-mail me at mmyag@comcast.net if you are interested and I will send you an invoice through paypal.

This is a 2 piece set and the ruffles are capri length. This is available in a size 2T and 3T. $25.00

This is a size 3/4 and is $35.00

This is a size 4/5 and is $35.00

This is a size 3/4 and is $35.00

Update

2011-07-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last post, but things have been crazy busy here, plus my laptop hasn't been working right and that has put a damper on my computer usage. Our desk top was up on our bedroom which made it really hard to get on during the day so we moved it downstairs into the playroom which is nice. The kids don't really use the playroom anymore so it is getting converted into a home office/craft room which I am estatic about.

This summer has been crazy busy and is already almost over for the kids. Blake and Jaxon have football conditioning and practice everyday from 8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. but starting next week until noon. Blake has played football since he was about 9 and really has a passion for it. This will be Jaxon's first year, but I am certain he will do just fine.

After three years of being in casts, undergoing surgeries and being in physical therapy, Mylee is finally able to enjoy her summers in the water and at the lake. This is the first year she has been cast free in the summer and she is really making up for lost time. She spends every weekend at the lake in the water from the time she gets up until she goes to bed at night.

Another thing she is doing and has waited three years to do is ballet. She has wanted to dance ever since she saw Emma in one of her dance recitals, but because of her legs she hasn't been able to. The dance studio Emma goes to offers a 5 week class in the summer and Mylee is so excited to be taking her very first ballet class. She practices daily and is more than willing to show anyone who will watch.

Speaking of dance, it seems to be quite the trend in our house because not only is Emma (she takes the summers off) and Mylee taking, but Drew is taking a Hip Hop class and is loving it. It is right up his alley. He and the neighbor boy who is also 5 are taking it together. And if that wasn't enough, Blake and Jaxon will start a teenage Hip Hop class next week. Jaxon has been asking to take for some time but the dance studio didn't have an all boys class. Blake has wanted to take because he thinks it will help with football. So, after months of trying to put together a class, they will finally start next week. I know Jaxon is so excited about it. As a matter of fact, we have been hearing this thumping sound for quite a while from upstairs and could not figure out what it was. I finally figured it out the other day. He is watching dance shows on You Tube and teaching himself to dance at night. He doesn't know we know and I have no plans of telling him.

Gabe and Emma are just chilling this summer. Emma is working really hard to save her money for China. She has a "job" tutoring the little boy next door once or twice a week. He is 5 and she just thinks it is so cool that she is tutoring him. She has put together a notebook and even lesson plans for him. She would make a great teacher someday.

Gabe trying to make a fire with a toy magnifying glass. I think he sat there for at least 20 minutes before walking away. He did not give up because later that day he was at it again.

As of today we are on day 43 of our LOA wait. I was really hoping to have had it by now, but I just keep telling myself everything is in His time

As for me, remember this picture from a few months ago...

Well, I will be sharing all about it later this afternoon.

Here We Go Again!

2011-06-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Update: The fundraiser will end on July 22nd.

CALM DOWN, it's not what you think! As I was typing this blog title I realized that many of you would immediatlely think of something else, like bringing two home again. Sorry to disappoint, but not gonna happen. With all the bumps we have encountered this time around, we are just going to be happy to get Keliah home.

We are once again launching a fundraiser to help bring our daughter home. We recently found out that because of the exchange rate, alot of our in China fees and expenses have increased. For example, the orphanage donation has increased from $5000 to $5400. Now $400 may not seem like alot, but when you are looking at the big picture, it is HUGE!

We are fortunate enough to live in the same city as the corporate offices of Vera Bradley. Once a year they hold a sale at the colisiem and it is a big deal. People come from all over to go to this sale. It starts on Wednsday and goes until Sunday. Each day they do markdowns and by Sunday most things are pretty inexpensive. People started lining up Saturday night for the doors to open Sunday morning.

So, because of the sale I was able to score some pretty cool bags, purses, and accessories. I have been holding on to them knowing that I would use them as a fundraise and wanted to wait until the right time.

We found out on Monday that we have a LID of 6/13 (this means that China has received our dossier and has logged it in to their system) which was much faster than our agency expected. Since we are reusing our dossier there has been some talk that things may move faster, but nothing definite. So just in case things do move faster than expected, which would be awesome, we want to make sure we are ready to go when China says we can go.

This is gonna be a pretty big giveaway. Unfortunately we can't do a big ticket item like before, but the good thing is that not one, not two, not even three, but 11 people will have a chance to win one of the follwing gift bags below.

#1. This is the Buttercup pattern. This set includes the Honor Roll duffel bag, Tootsie purse, Please Hold wallet and the Make Me Up makeup bag. This would make a great set for a little girl or even a tween.

#2. This is the Purple Punch pattern. You will get the Saddle Up purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#3. This is the Puccini pattern. You will get the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Taxi Wallet.

#4. This is the Bali Gold pattern. This set includes the Stephanie purse, Double Eye eye glass case, and the Compact Wallet.

#5. This is the Carnably pattern. This is the Stephanie purse, the Double Eye eye glass case, and the Euro Wallet.

#6. Make Me Blush pattern. This is the Reversible Tote purse, and the matching Taxi Wallet.

#7. This is the Call Me Coral pattern. This is for the Cha Cha Hadbag, and the matching Best Bud wallet.

#8. This is the Patchwork pattern. This is for the Medley Tote.

#9. Palm Beach Gardens Pattern. This is for the Pretty Tote purse.

#10. This is the Day and Night pattern. This is the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matchin Best Buds Wallet.

#11. This is the Loves Me pattern. This is for the Comin Up Roses Handbag and the matching Best Buds wallet.

I know pretty cool, uh? These are some great bags for both big girls and little girls. Emma has one of the Tootise purse and Best Buds wallet and LOVES them. In fact, she was begging me to let her keep the Buttercup set, but backed off when she realized it was to bring Keliah home.

So, here's the deal. All you have to do is follow the instructions below and you will be entered to win one of these awesome prizes.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries plus a free bracelet (pictured below) in your choice of color.
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

Please use the Chip In button to the right. I know there are some people who do not like or don't have a paypal account so if you would rather donate another way, please contact me at mmyag@comcast.net

Never Say Never

2011-06-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I said I would NEVER do. There are so many things I said I would NEVER have. I am sure there were even more "nerve's" before I got married and had kids, but that seems like forever ago.

Shortly (5 days) after Matt and I got married he left for basic training. A few months into it he called with information about where his first duty station would be. I was thinking somewhere South, but was completely unprepared for the words that came out of his mouth. "I am going to be stationed in South Korea." My response was "I am NOT going to live in S. Korea. Matt's response to that, "well, that's good because it is an unaccompanied tour which means you can't go." A month after he let Korea, I was on a plane to Korea. Never say Never.

When Matt and I got married obviously one of the things we talked about repeatedly was the number of kids we wanted to have. I was good with two, one boy, one girl. After Emma came along I was excited that I had my one girl and one boy (I did still dream about my daughter in China). I remember seeing large families out and about and thinking why in the world would anyone want that many kids? How did they afford that many kids? There house must be huge with a family that size. Could they even afford to take their kids to Disney, because in my mind (at the time), every kid needed to go to Disney, they needed to wear name brand clothes, etc. Nope, not gonna have more than 2 kids.

When Emma was 2 I got pregnant with Gabe. Matt and I were really excited about adding ONE more to our family. We were certain that this was going to be it. We were done after this. Three was enough and probably more than we could really afford. We prayed for a healthy baby with 10 fingers and 10 toes, the sex didn't really matter since we already had one of each.

You all know the story from there. Mylee came home in May of 2008, Drew and Jaxon in May of 2010, and Keliah will hopefully join our family this coming fall. In three years we have gone from a family of 4, to a family of 7 (almost). Never say Never.

One of the other things I said I would NEVER do is drive a mini van, and there was absolutely NO WAY I was going to drive one of those big, humongous vans. We had an eight passenger conversion van when I was growing up and there was no way I was going to drive one of those things around. Nope, no gonna happen.

Last night we went from this...

to this...

It was definitely time. We knew it was coming and had been putting it off for some time, but now with Keliah only months from coming home, we needed to get a van that would fit all of us. So, we went from a mini van to this 12 passenger monstrosity. We have been looking for one in our price range for about 6 months, so when we learned about this one, we moved quickly because these vans are not easy to find (well, without paying $30,000). Once again, never say never.

The kids were so excited when they saw up pull in. We came home to get them and take them for ice cream because we knew they were going to want a ride. Drew came running out saying "whooohooo, yippeee, now we can all go to the lake." (We were driving two cars before) They have already staked out their seats. It is definitely going to take a bit of getting used to, but it is such a relief to finally have that decision making process over.

And as for the Never say Never, I would drive a bus if it meant that there would be no more children without homes, because NEVER is just a word, and families are forever.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-06-14T07:12:00.001-07:00

Whoooo! Summer just started around here and we are already super busy. The kids got out of school on June 7. They were supposed to get out on May 26th, but we had tons of snow days to make up therefore they had to go into June. Let me tell ya, they were definitely ready to be done.

Blake and Jaxon have already started football practice (that started the day after school) for their FRESHMAN year. I cannot believe I am going to have not one, but two freshmen. Holy Cow, I am not sure I am ready for this.

Blake made his Confirmation within the Catholic Church in May. We are so proud of him and the young man he is turning into.

He also did the Juvenile Diabetes walk this year. We were not only proud of him for giving up his time, but for his friends as well. Between all of them, they donated over $100 of their own money. He definitely has some great friends.

This past weekend we had an adoption fundraiser to raise money to bring Keliah home. Despite the rain and storms we still managed to make a little under $900.00. It was pouring rain when we opened on Friday and ended up clearing out our front room to set tables of clothes in it. By early afternoon the rain had cleared off so things started to pick up a bit. We still have a ton of stuff left (we had several people donate) so I am loading it all up and taking it to friend's this weekend for their association sale. Hopefully we can get rid of lots of stuff.

Emma also set up a table at the garage sale. She is making some pretty awesome bracelets to help raise money for Keliah's adoption. Each bracelet is $6.00 and between friends, family, and the garage sale, she has already managed to make over 200 bracelets. She can whip up a bracelet in about 5 minutes or less.

I can assure you there will be more talk about these very soon!

Emma also had her dance recital this past Sunday. She did an amazing job and we are so proud of her. This year she only took ballet and really seemed to enjoy it. She will be taking ballet again in the fall and is excited to have Keliah join her. (We have video of Keliah dancing and i her interview she says that she wants to be a dancer when she grows up. I have already talked with the dance teacher and they are willing to let her start when she gets home if she wants).

Their song was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

Mylee is so excited because this will be her first summer since she has been home that she will not be in casts. She can enjoy the lake, and will be taking a beginner Ballet class this summer. She still doesn't have 100% range in her knees and ankles, but she has been begging to dance like Emma since she came home. She is over the moon excited and asks daily when her classes will start. If all goes well, we will sign her up for a year long class as well. Oh, she will also be in Kindergarten in the fall and is extremely excited and proud to tell anyone who will listen.

She will probably spending alot of time in the water this summer.

Gabe is probably the most excited about summer break. He does quite well in school, but is definitely not a big fan. He struggled in the beginning with reading, but once he got it, he got it. His teacher says he definitely has the mind of an engineer. She said he is very creative and that in all the years of teaching she has never seen a kindergartner come up with block creations like him. She said she thoroughly enjoys watching him build things out of blocks.

Once a month the school has a River Rally where they get the kids pumped up about learning, life skills, and award any outstanding students. They give the kids a special t-shirt if they are chosen and during the last River Rally, Gabe earned a t-shirt for having perseverance all year long. His teacher said that she was so proud of Gabe for not giving up when things got too hard. Instead, he would continue to work until he figured it out. He was very excited about this and we were extremely proud of him.

Gabe loves spending time at the lake.

Andrew will be going to pre-school in the fall three days a week and is so excited to finally be going to school like his big brothers and sisters. This little guy has so much energy and can be quite ornery at times. During Emma's dance recital there was a group of girls doing hip hop (they were about 5 or 6) and one little boy. Matt and I both looked at each other and said "Andrew." So, I think we are going to sign him up for a summer hip hop class which I am sure he will love. He loves performing in front on anyone who will watch.

Drew turned 5 in March and insisted on a Spider Man party!

So, as you can see we are kicking off the summer in full swing. I am sure there will very few dull moments in the house. We will be spending lots of weekends at the lake, which the kids love.

There's just enough room for Keliah to be in the picture next year.

Black and White Wednesday ~ Smiles

2011-06-07T19:27:00.000-07:00

Jaxon has been home for just over a year now. This picture was taken the day we met him. I know for Matt and I were were so nervous. While we waited for Jaxon to arrive we were talking about whether or not to shake his hand, hug him, or just stand back and give a little wave. I remember at one point, I told Matt that I thought I was going to be sick because I was so nervous. This was a whole new journey we were about to embark on.

With all the emotions Matt and I were feeling, I can't even begin to imagine how Jaxon was feeling and thinking. When I look at this picture, I see a terrified, young man. I see bravery, and courage like no other. I see fear.

I used to love looking at this picture. This was taken while we were still in China, and I it was probably the first "real" smile we got from Jaxon. This was the picture I carried in my wallet, because of the smile. It took alot for him to feel comfortable enough to smile. We didn't get many smiles in the beginning and if we did, we had to beg for them.

This next picture was taken shortly after we got home. We didn't get a whole lot of smiles in the beginning. The ones we did see, were only because he didn't know we were looking. When Jaxon would be outside playing with the other kids, I would stand at the kitchen window and take pictures from the inside. I didn't want him to see me with the camera because I knew if he did, he would stop and come in.

In the fall we had our family pictures updated. We were planning on doing it anyway, but needed to for our updated dossier for Keliah. This smile was a little easier to come by. Jaxon definitely doesn't like to be the center of attention so having a photo shoot where he was the only one in the picture was a little awkward for him I am sure. But, I think it turned out okay, and he seemed pleased with it at the time.

This picture is by far, my favorite picture of Jaxon. This was just taken over Memorial Day weekend at the lake, so a little over a year later from the first picture. I definitely don't see any fear or nerves in the picture. He truly looks happy, he looks comfortable, he looks like he belongs in our family. This is a genuine, uncoaxed smile, which is something we see more and more of each and every day.

This past year has been full of so many emotions for everyone involved. I will be the first to admit that Matt and I were terrified of adopting an older child, especially a boy. But there was just something about his picture that gave me a sense of peace. I would look at his referral picture over and over and "know" that everything was going to be okay. I know that most of our family and friends thought we were crazy, and completely out of our minds for adopting Jaxon. But I cannot imagine our family without him. He is an awesome, awesome, kid.

We have good times and bad, but more good than bad. In the beginning there were several times that we were all in tears. He would say he thought he made a mistake in coming here, and we would do everything to show him that he hadn't. In the beginning I don't think actually, I am certain he wasn't sure if this was his permanent home or not. We spent several months assuring him over and over that no matter what, he was here to stay.

A few months after being home Jaxon and I were out somewhere together one day and he began to share with me his story, his background. Obviously that is something I will not be sharing, but I can definitely tell you that the word "courage" has a new meaning to me.

One of the things that I have wanted more than anything was for Jaxon to call me "mom." He has called Matt "dad" a few times, but I usually get a tap on the shoulder or a "hey." He has always referred to us as mom and dad with the other kids, but never directly addresses me as mom. I knew it would come with time, and was actually preparing myself that he would never call me or really see me as his mom. But on Easter Sunday, as I was making breakfast for everyone, I over heard Matt tell Jaxon, Blake and Emma to tell me thank you for their Easter baskets. I had my back turned to them. Blake came in first with a "thanks mom." Then Emma with a peppy "thank you mom." And then Jaxon with a low, mumbled, "thanks mom." I absolutely could not believe it. I was definitely not expecting it and had to do everything I could not to break down in the middle of the kitchen in tears. I had waited almost a year to hear that on little word from him, and honestly didn't know how to react. I did know, not to make a big deal about it. I just said "you're welcome" and continued scrambling the eggs, but I can tell you my heart was bursting inside.

Matt and I talked to several other families that had adopted older children, especially boys before we brought Jaxon home. We heard many different stories. We heard the good, the bad, and unfortunately, the ugly. We had prepared ourselves for the worst, and even discussed our breaking point if we were getting in over our heads. We knew Jaxon was our son, and were prepared to do whatever it took to make him feel that as well.

This past year has been full of goods and bads, but I think we would all, including Jaxon agree, that he is our son, and fits perfectly into our family. He is such a good kid. I remember when we were in China and Blake was back talking Matt. Matt looked at Jaxon and told him (though the translator) that he couldn't wait until he was comfortable enough to talk back to him. Well, that day came not too long ago, and as mad as it made both of us, behind closed doors we were relieved. I know it sounds ridiculous that we would welcome our child to talk back, but for us, it is a sign that Jaxon is feeling like he is truly a part of the family.

As I look back on this past year in pictures, the transformation with Jaxon is tremendous. I can only imagine what the next year will bring.

A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home. ~Author Unknown

30 Days Ago

2011-06-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Before I get started, I should probably explain my Wordless Wednesday post. Yes, that was my foot, no I did not break my foot (although that may be less painful, and more fixable). For two years now I have been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis which has now turned into a bone spur. It is extremely painful and has really limited my walking. I will admit I am not one that likes to go to the doctor, so I did put it off for awhile. Once I finally went, we started the treatment with shots of cortizone in my heel. This was so not fun, and quite painful and in the end did not work. Our next step was to have custom orthotics put in my tennis shoes that were to be worn all the time (I actually can't walk far without my shoes on because the pain is awful). These worked for about 6 months, but again, I put off going to the doctor until about March. This time, I was given a night splint that is made to keep me food in a straight, stretched position while I sleep. We did this for over a month, and again, this didn't help. So, after talking with a few other women that have had or have this foot problem, I decided I was just going to bite the bullett and have the surgery. I went in to see the doctor two weeks ago fully intending to walk out with a surgical appt. Instead, I walked out with this lovely new "shoe." Supposedly, this will keep me from having surgery. I wear this all day long except when I am driving, and the night splint to sleep in. I go back at the end of the month and if my foot is not better, then we are just going to schedule the surgery. I have been wearing the boot now for 2 weeks and I can't really see any progress. I keep hoping it will get better, but I am just not feeling it yet. So, I will keep you posted on my foot issue. If anyone has ever had this, I would love to hear how you treated it.

Now for the real reason for my post.

30 days ago, I was on cloud nine.

After 7 very long months, our dossier was ready to leave for China. When we started this process back in September, our goal was to beDTC in January, February at the latest. But throughout those 7 months, we encountered roadblocks that needed pushed through, hurdles that needed knocked over, and a few mountains that needed climbing. We met each setback with frustration, but determined to get through it.

30 days ago, time stood still with one single phone call

May 3rd. That was the day that changed everything. I got a call from our agency and I could tell right away something wasn't right. I went outside to the front porch to see what was up. I was fully expecting for it to have something to do with our paperwork. Never in a million years could I have been prepared for what was being told to me. Honestly, I don't think anyone could have been prepared. As I was being told the accusations that had been made, my head was spinning and the voice at the other end was starting to sound like the teacher on Charlie Brown.

30 Day ago we were betrayed.

Someone had "anonymously" called our agency earlier that day and had made some pretty strong accusations in regards to us adopting another child. This person made several accusations about us, our family, and our finances in an effort to sabotage our adoption process. Some of the accusations that were made were completely ridiculous, some exaggerated truths, and some were just complete lies. Some of the accusations that were being made were that we couldn't afford another child, we have a diabetic son (Blake) who we don't monitor,Mylee's ortho issues are too much for us to handle and therefore causing us to "neglect" our other kids. Jaxon is unhappy and causing problems. Our house is dirty and we never fix anything. Oh, and our plate is just too full. These are only a few of the accusations, there are more, many more.
As the list was of accusations was growing, it became quite apparent to me who the anonymous person was. There was no doubt in my mind who was doing this and way. This person is very controlling and because they didn't feel we should add another child into our home, they took it upon themselves to make sure that didn't happen. They have verbalized their opinion frequently, and were not happy with our decision to adoptKeliah. These accusations were not made out of concern for our family and definitely not Keliah. They were made with one malicious intent and that was to "control" the situation.

30 Days ago everything was put on hold.

Because of the accusations, everything was put on hold. We were told that until we were able to prove the accusations wrong, we could not proceed. We were already months behind our goal of being DTC by January, so you can only imagine how upsetting this was. Don't get me wrong, we completely understand and agree with our agency in needing to verify everything, but it doesn't mean we have to like it. There main concern was what is best for Keliah, which is exactly what it should be.

I am not one that likes to be told "no." In fact, if someone tells me no, I am going to everything I can to prove to them that I can do it. I am a mom, and NO ONE, I mean NO ONE is going to mess with my kids. Keliah may not physically be here, but she is just as much part of our family and loved just as much as the other kids.

30 Days ago we began to fight for our daughter.

Once we were able to calm down and fully comprehend the severity of everything, we no choice but to fight back. Luckily, our agency was not giving up on us, but instead was working with us to discredit everything that had been said. For the last 30 days we have been running around like crazy people. We have had to get reference letters from friends, family, teachers, neighbors, and doctors. We were asked to provide a recent credit report, current employment letters, and not one, not two, but three years worth of past tax information. We were asked to put into writing a dispute for each and every accusation that was made, which we did, and ended up being 11 pages long. Jaxon was asked to write a letter on his own about how he felt about living in our family. Our homestudy agency was called (they had just been here 2 weeks prior for our 1 yr post placement) and we told them they were more than welcome to come back anytime announced or not. Once our agency had everything they needed (and then some), we had to go back through immigration and wait for their take on all of this. Honestly, I think our agency knows more about our family than any other adoptive family.

30 days ago I was terrified.

I was so scared, mostly of the unknown. I was petrified that His plan was different than mine. We had no idea what was going to happen. All I knew was that from the moment I sawKeliah's picture I knew she was my daughter and I had to fight for her. I saw her pictures a few months before I even mentioned her to Matt. I knew he wasn't going to begung ho about adopting again. I kept telling myself that if she was still available in August, I would approach him about her. August came, she was still available, and by September we were submitting ourLOI.

For the last 30 days I have had this gut wrenching ache in the pit of my stomach. I am not a cryer, but I can assure you , tear, many, many tears have been shed these past few weeks. I just could not imagine having to tell the kids, especially Emma that we were not going to get Keliah. I think that was the hardest part, knowing that the worst case decision was not only going to break my heart, but theirs as well. And then I would start thinking about Keliah and what could happen to her. Would she get a second chance with a family, or would she eventually age out to a life on the streets?

7 days ago we got another call.

23 days had passed since we found out everything was on hold. 23 days of being on what seemed like an endless rollercoaster. After 23 days of ups and downs, and twists and turns, everything came to a screeching halt yet again. However, this phone call was much different than the first. This was the phone call that we had been praying for, the one that would determine our fate as well as Keliah's. After 23 days of complete stress, we were finally being told that the ride was over, and that our placing agency, homestudy agency, and immigration had decided to let us proceed with bringing Keliah home. Basically this means that we were able to discredit each and every accusation that had been made and Keliah will come home. Praise God!

Yesterday

We got an e-mail that we have waited a long time for. After 7 very long months, we were finally...

That's right, as I type this, our dossier is on it's way to China. We are hoping and praying for a speedy LOA and TA that will put us on a plane around September. We are beyond excited to be able to finally take a breath and relax. This has been one heck of a ride, one that was not only new to us, but to our agency as well. I cannot thank them enough for their support and understanding during this last month. I would also like to thank all of you who have kept us in your thought and prayers. I have received e-mails daily from friends, family, and fellow bloggers checking in on us. I have talked with, texted, and really leaned on a few of you, and for that, I truly thank you.

Once again it has been our faith that got us through this, and it will be our faith, that will see us through in bringing our daughter home, where she belongs.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

2 Less, and an Update

2011-05-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Connie met her daughters yesterday in China. Connie and I have never met, but I can tell you she is an amazing woman with a huge heart. She was my "go to" girl when we were thinking of bringing Jaxon home since she had recently bought an older boy home. She has been a tremendous inspiration to me and a shoulder when I have needed it. She and her family are proof that with with God, anything is possible.

They began their process to bring Kasidi Joy home last fall shortly before we began ours to Keliah. In fact, her little Kasidi holds a very special place in my heart. A few months into the process, they heard the Lord telling them they had not one daughter in China but two, and stepped out in complete faith to bring home Kennah Janae.

Like many adoptive families, they began their process with little to no money but in 9 months were fully funded to the tune of $47,000, which is the exact amount they needed to bring both Kasidi and Kennah home. That was all Him, only God could pull something this big off. He led them to their daughters and was there beside them every step of the way, and as a result, Connie is sleeping soundly tonight in China with both Kasidi and Kennah beside her.

Please hop over to her blog to see her two beautiful girls God has blessed her with.

As for us and our situation, we still no nothing, but are hoping and praying we know something this week. We continue to pray, and pray, and pray. I still have that aching knot in the pit of my stomach and I am sure it will be there until we know what is going on. We have provided all the information our agency and immigration has asked for. Honestly, I think they know more about our family than any other adoptive family. The amount of information we have had to provide is ridiculous, but we totally understand why it is needed. We have nothing to hide therefore it has not been an issue to release the information.

We are trying to be as optimistic as we can, but it is really hard not to think of the worst case scenario. I simply cannot imagine what will happen to Keliah if we unable to proceed with her adoption. Our family will be crushed, but I am sure with time, we will heal. The moment I first saw her picture I knew instantly she was our daughter. I tried really hard not to think about her because I just was not sure we could take on her special needs (spina bifida), as a matter of fact, before I ever saw her face, I looked over her because the unknowns of spina bifida terrified me. But, there was no getting her beautiful face out of my mind, so I began researching and after weeks of talking to doctors, hours of googling, and many prayers, Matt and I were certain that just like with Mylee, Drew, and Jaxon, everything was going to be fine.

I know without a doubt she is our daughter. Her picture hangs on the wall right next to the other kids. We talk about her everyday and are asked daily how things are going and we will travel. It is not just us that are excited to bring her home, but our friends and family as well. We have spoken to the school and they too are excited to have her join them and have spoken to us at length about integrating her so she is comfortable. We have been making plans for the girls' room and had just told Emma on Easter that she was going with us to China by putting a pink, rhinestone passport cover in her Easter basket.

My heart breaks for Emma. She is a mess knowing that we may not get Keliah and will start crying out of nowhere with questions like, "why would someone try to keep us from getting Keliah? What will happen to her if she doesn't get a family?" As her mom, it is so hard to answer these questions. She has been asking for years if we could get her a sister her age. She doesn't understand, and to be honest, neither do I.

So, I am once again asking for you to keep our family and Keliah in your prayers. We have dealt with many things through our adoptions, climbed many mountains, ripped through walls brick by brick and to be honest, nothing has compared to what we are going through right now. So, please continue to pray and I will update you as soon as we know something.

Nothing New, But We Have a Winner

2011-05-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

So, there is nothing new to report. I was hoping to know something by now, but we don't really know anymore than we did two weeks ago when this all began to unfold. We have provided all the information our agency has asked for and they are going through it with a fine tooth comb. I am so frustrated by this whole thing, but completely understand their needing to verify everything.

I am so ready for this to be over. For two weeks now I have had this ball in the pit of my stomach. I go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it. When the agency's number shows up on our caller ID I feel sick not knowing if it is going to be good, bad, or no news. I haven't been able to focus on anything but the "issue."

I know ultimately there is nothing more we can do. It is completely out of our hands, but I just can't help thinking about Keliah and what might happen to her if we cannot bring her home. Even the kids are asking daily if we have heard anything (the older 3). We tried not to say anything to to them, but they knew instantly that something was up. My heart breaks for Emma, she asks the most, and will be heartbroken if the news is not good.

FOr now we are still trying to be optimistic, but I have to be honest, the longer this drags on, the less optimistic I am.

I will continue to update you as we get information. I feel like I have so much to update on just dealing with the kids, Jaxon especially. I promise, I will update as soon as I can, but right now I just can't bring myself to do much more than get through the day.

In other news, we decided to go ahead and hold the drawing for the iPad 2 giveaway. Originally we were going to wait until this mess was over, but since we have no idea how long that will take, we didn't want there to be any questions as to what was going on with the giveaway.

So, without further ado, the winner of the iPad 2, case, and iTunes gift card is...

Jessica K

I will be contacting you via e-mail immediately. Congrats and thank you to all who participated.

It Is What It Is ~ Pressing On

2011-04-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

First let me apologize for not posting the winner of the iPad fundraiser. It is coming, I promise. But not until tomorrow. I am really, really sorry for keeping you waiting, but I can assure you it is not without good reason.

In my mind, this post was going to be very different. This was going to be THE post announcing that we were finally DTC. So, to answer the e-mails and texts I have received to day, NO, we are NOT DTC, and we have no idea when we will be.

We have hit a snag like no other.

The roadblocks, the hurdles, and the mountains are no match for what we are up against now. Never in a million years could I have imagined being where we are right now. Never. I wish I could shed some light on the situation, but for now I feel we must keep this to ourselves. I have struggled with whether or not I should even mention it. In the end, I felt like I owe it to you. Many of my followers and readers have been with us since the beginning of our journey to Mylee. You continued to follow and support us through our journey to Drew and Jaxon. And you have been right here with us every step of the way to Keliah. Your prayers and support have helped us over hurdles, through roadblock, and over mountains. So, it is only fair that I be as honest as I can and for now, the only thing I can say is this is a doosey.

I'm not gonna lie, I am terrified. I am heartbroken. I am in complete shock, we all are.

What I am not, is a quitter. I am a fighter, and I am going to fight like you cannot even imagine to bring our girl home.

Our agency is working with us, and are doing everything they can to sort this out. Obviously, their main concern if for Keliah. This is a unique situation and as much as it s#@cks, we completely, 100% understand their concern and will do everything to alleviate that concern.

Believe it or not, we are seeing some light at the end of the tunnel, but it is definitely not over, in fact, I think we have only just begun.

We have already been blessed beyond measure by friends and family who are continuing to support us. They are behind us 110%.

Right now I asking you, begging you to pray for our family. Pray for Keliah. Pray that this is resolved quickly so we can continue to move down that path that He laid out for us. You may not know the specifics of those prayers, but He will, and He will hear them.

It is what it is. Plain and simple. The only thin we can do at this point is to continue to move forward, which is exactly what we are doing. We are moving forward with a fire and passion like no other. We are trusting in the Lord that He is once again testing us, and pray that we will pass. We are giving up all control and laying it in His lap as He is the ultimate decision maker. No one, or no thing is too big for Him. In the end, if it is His will for Keliah to join our family, He will make it happen.

I will do my best to keep you updated, but for now, I may be MIA for the next couple of days while we sort this out. Please e-mail me with any questions. mmyag@comcast.net

Hang in there...

2011-04-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know that we are tallying up all the entries and the winner will be chosen and announced tonight! I am so excited to see who the winner is!

Tick Tock

2011-04-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

The clock is ticking. Today is THE last day to get in on a chance at winning one of these bad boys...

The all-new thinner and lighter design makes iPad 2 even more comfortable to hold. It's even more powerful with the dual-core A5 chip, yet has the same 10 hours of battery life.1 With two cameras, you can make FaceTime video calls,2 record HD video and put a twist on your snapshots in Photo Booth. And the iPad Smart Cover attaches magnetically and wakes up, stands up and brightens up your iPad 2.3
What's Included

* Apple® iPad™ 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G - 16GB

Product Features

* 9.7" LED-backlit display with IPS technology
* Dual-core A5 chip
* Front and back cameras
* Up to 10 hours of battery life
* Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
* 3G data service with AT&T (data plan sold separately)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
* 16GB flash storage
* Over 65,000 apps made for iPad, available from the App Store

Plus, your choice of one these colors...

And of course one of these...

All you have to do is one of these, or even all of these. The more you do, the more chances you have to win.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries!
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

This is really a win win situation. Not only do you get a chance at winning the above prizes, but even better, you will walk away knowing that win or lose, you had a hand in uniting a little girl with her forever family.

UGHHHHH!!!!!!

2011-04-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I am screaming right now and on the verge of tears. I know there is a reason for everything, but come on! So much for being DTC next week.

Yesterday I found out through e-mail that there is another problem with one of our documents, actually the same document from before. I got an e-mail from the courier in Chicago which I thought was a status update letting us know that she had dropped our papers off at the Consulate and would pick them up on Monday. Uh, no! This is what I got instead...

"I'm sorry to tell you that the date listed on the Sec of State document says it
was signed on April 15, 2011 by the notary, and the was actually signed on 4/18/2011...
The Consulate will reject this, so it will have to be redone, notarized and State Sealed."

Once again and I was on the phone trying to figure out how to get it there tomorrow. I called the bank to see if they are open today since it is Good Friday and YES, they are. So, my next call was to the Secretary of State's office to see if they were open. Nope, they are NOT open. Imagine that! So, it will be Monday before I can get it done again for the THIRD time assuming Matt or I can get off work Monday (especially since I just took off on Tuesday last minute).

Not only that, but I can't help but think of the extra money this is going to cost, again as well. With gas prices at $4.00 a gallon, it is costing quite a bit to make these trips to Indy plus the added postal expenses.

So, instead of being DTC next week, we are now looking at being DTC the following week which means we won't be DTC now until May!!!!! I am seriously irritated. I know there is nothing I can do about it. I just keep repeating to myself "there is a reason for everything, there is a reason for everything, there IS a reason for everything."

I know there are lessons in everything we do and I am really, really trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I am going to be honest, it is not so easy. I think my first reaction to this latest news was "okay, are we really supposed to be doing this?" With all the roller coaster ride this has been, it has really been hard at times to not wonder this. Once I was able to think clearly, I KNOW without a doubt Keliah is our daughter, and I WILL continue to do everything to bring her home. I also started thinking of all the lessons we are learning and testes we are being given through our journey to Keliah. Our patience is definitely being tested. Our faith is being tested. Our perseverance is being tested. We only see part of the picture, bits and pieces. We see the hurdles that need to be jumped and the mountains that need to be climbed. We wonder if there is light at the end of the tunnel, we question if we are doing the right thing. God sees the whole picture, he knows how this is going to end. He knows the exactly when we will be united with our daughter. He has known since the beginning of time.

I just got off the phone with our agency to let them know what was going on and to make sure that since we already had to ask for one extension that we were still within those dates. They have assured me that we are "good." I also asked about time frames again because we were really hoping to travel by the end of the summer and since we are re-using our dossier, we were told that that may be a possibility. After talking to them today, it seems like the time frames are 30-45 for LOA (letter of approval, China's final approval), then another 2-4 months form immigration. So, from DTC we are still looking at 4-6 months to actually travel which means IF we are able to get our dossier to China May 3rd or 4th, we won't travel before September and maybe even as late as November.

So, after yet another setback I am asking you all to pray that this will be the LAST setback. If everything works out, I will make another trip to Indy on Monday and with the turnaround from the courier, our dossier will go to China either May 3rd or 4th.

So, we will continue to jump these...

We will continue to knock these down...

And we will continue to climb these...

We are going to ride this til the end. We may not welcome the ups and downs, or the twists and turns, but they will definitely be worth it in the end.

We are moving forward with a determination like no other. We will not cower to the enemy, we will not let the detours stop us. Instead, we will take on whatever is thrown at us because Keliah IS our daughter and we WILL bring her home.

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty..." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Roadblock #4,786...

2011-04-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, not really, but we have hit yet another roadblock. I know, by now I shouldn't be surprised, but seriously?

I called our agency yesterday to make sure they received the information that was mailed to them last week and to make sure everything was there. They got it, and yes, everything was there now they were just waiting on our authenticated documents that were being picked up from the Consulate yesterday. I reassured them that I would have them Tuesday and would overnight everything to them so they would have them in their hands by Wednesday which would be we would be DTC on Wednesday or Thursday. Sounds good, right?

Wrong! Not twenty minutes after I hung up with them I got a call on my cell phone and almost didn't answer it because I didn't recognize the number. I went ahead and answered it only to find out that it was the courier in Chicago that was supposed to be picking up our documents. She kindly let me know that the Consulate had rejected one of our documents for authentication. By this time I was pretty much freaking out. She said that they would not accept our application letter because the dates from the notary and the dates from our signatures were not the same. Not sure how, or what happened, all I kept thinking was this was just one more roadblock that was going to slow us down.

After talking to her for a few more minutes, I knew what I needed to do and was immediately in "go" mode. I called Matt, let him know what was going on and that we were going to have to meet at the bank to get the application letter (this is the letter we sent to China assuring them that we are fully aware that Keliah has medical issues and that we will get her the treatment she needs among other things) notarized again and that I was going to have to make another trip to Indianapolis to get it authenticated at the Secretary of State's office. I began making arrangements for our kids along with the two boys I watch during the day. Luckily, my mom was planning on coming up this morning, so she went ahead and came up last night so she could stay here and get Gabe from school. I am also pretty lucky that the parents I sit for are flexible and understanding.

After getting meeting at the bank, Matt and I decided to take ALL the kids to dinner which is something we rarely do so we decided on Chinese. There is a great Chinese restaurant down the road from us and the kids love it because one, all the workers are actually Chinese, and two, they get ice cream when they are done. As with all Chinese restaurants, when the bill comes out, so do the fortune cookies. Everyone gets a fortune cookie and we read it so everyone can hear. Once the kids were done, it was my turn to read mine. I opened it, read it to myself and started laughing.

How fitting was this...

And, if you do the math, our authenticated paperwork will be picked up next Monday (April 25th). The courier is going to overnight it directly to our agency so they will receive it Tuesday afteroon (April 26th). And as long as everything is correct this time, we WILL be DTC on Wednesday, April 27th (please see the lucky numbers above). No, I don't actually believe fortune cookies, but come one, how cool is that one given everything obstacle we have had to overcome. Success will come, I have no doubt.

So, this morning, Andrew and I took off for Indy to get the application letter re-authenticated. The plan was to get down there by 9:30 when they opened and turn right around and be home by noonish. All went well on the way down, but we hit some nasty storms coming home which involved downpours of rain, thunder, lightning, and winds that were so strong I was gripping the wheel so hard my palms were hurting. What normally takes about 2 hours one way, took us almost 3 hours to get home.

The third time is the charm right? I have driven to Indy and back 3 times to get this little gold sticker.

Here is my little travel companion

I was so glad he took a nap because with the weather the way it was, I was able to concentrate on driving and not entertaining Andrew.

So, that is our newest update. The good news is that we are getting closer and closer to our goal and are only in need of $4368.00 to be DTC. And as I said before, anything and everything we raise above and beyond our goal will go directly to Connie and her family who will be traveling very soon to bring home their TWO beautiful girls. See the post below for all the details.

Here's the Deal...

2011-04-17T18:38:00.001-07:00

Y'all know by now we are hoping and praying that all goes well and we will be DTC by Wednesday or at the latest, Thursday of this week. Honestly, I cannot believe after all the roadblocks, hurdles, and yes, eve a mountain or two, we are FINALLY at this point. I simply cannot wait for this week to be over so we can finally sit back take a deep breath, and relax (to some extent) knowing we are this much closer to our beautiful daughter, Keliah.

So, I am sure by now you have all noticed the Chip-in button on our sidebar. That whoppin $6595.00 is the amount we need to raise before we can send out dossier to China. We are still $5228.00 short. To most, that is an enormous amount of money that still needs to be raised in only 3 or 4 days. But I know He has a plan, and that plan is bigger than any amount of money. I have seen so much more raised in less time, and I know that it can be done.

$5228.00 is all we need to get our dossier to China. I say all because that is nothing when you look at the big picture. (We are SO close, but I feel like we are still So far away). That's it, not a penny more. We will be doing other fundraisers, giveaways, etc. to help raise the rest of the money we need. Right now we are just going at this one step at a time.

We need $5228.00 to get our dossier to China, and my dear, dear friend Connie is just weeks from traveling to get not one, but two beautiful little girls who are waiting to be united with their forever family. Kasidi and Kennah are adorable little girls who are about to have their worlds turned upside down, in a good way.

Here's what Connie wrote in an e-mail recently:

"Dear Friends~
We will be officially awaiting TA within a week! I'm excited and scared all at the same time :) Excited to hold my Treasures, scared to travel without my amazing hubby, scared of Kasidi's 'unknowns' with spina bifida, but so excited about what the Lord has done in our family and in our hearts.
As you know, we started this journey with nothing and surrendered to the Lord's plans, asking for His complete provision.
He's been so completely faithful, as always! Here we are at the end, bringing home 2 precious Treasures. With travel fees coming due, we are still short $17,000 to get both girls home without incurring more debt.
No doubt He will provide!
I'm emailing you to ask for your prayers as we reach the finish line.
The Lord has also taught us much about giving during this process. Every time we've given to another adoptive family He has multiplied the blessing back to us - so like Him!
I can't wait till we have our girls home and are able to 'pay it forward' by helping other families raise funds."

My immediate reaction after reading this e-mail was "how can we help?" We have a need too, but right now, they do too, and they are SO close to traveling. I sat in silence for awhile, thinking, and praying. "What can we do?" Sure, we could donate, but it would be much. I know all too well that NO amount is too small, but I really felt like we could do more.

So, here's the deal...

Anything we raise over the $5228.00 will go directly to Connie and her family to bring their two daughters home. Just today they found out that someone from their Church is offering a $5000 matching grant. That means anything that is donated to them is automatically doubled up to $5000! ANY amount we are able to raise over and beyond the amount we need, will go into Connie's matching grant fund. At this point, I just want to get out dossier to China, and at the same time, I feel like I need to help them as well. I KNOW this can be done.

Not only do you have the chance to win an iPad 2, your choice of cover, and an iTunes gift card, but more importantly, you will know that you helped unite THREE beautiful girls with their forever families.

Moving Right Along

2011-04-15T06:43:00.001-07:00

We got an e-mail confirmation last night that our documents were dropped off at the Consulate to be authenticated which means they will be picked up on Monday and we will have them in our hands by Tuesday.

As soon as I get everything, double check to make sure all is in order, I will overnight them to our agency and they will receive them on Wednesday.

So, what does all this REALLY mean? If all goes well, we will be DTC (dossier to China) by next Wednesday, Thursday at the latest!

What does DTC mean? It means we are that much closer to bringing our daughter home!!!!

So, you still have plenty of time for a chance to win the all new iPad 2, iPad 2 cover in the color of your choice, and a $50.00 iTunes to start loading up on new apps.

Lookey Lookey!

2011-04-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited right now! I just finished checking my e-mail and was SO surprised to see we were sent two new pictures of Keliah, updated measurements and the orphanage's address so we can finally send our girl a package.

We asked back at the beginning of March for an update and didn't hear anything so I was actually giving up any hope of getting one and was seriously thinking of asking an outside service to get an update, pics, and sending a package, but didn't really want to spend the money.

She is so beautiful and I cannot wait to get her home!

Since we have several new followers, let me bring you up to speed on Keliah. I first saw her face last summer but didn't say anything to Matt because he was pretty adamant after we brought the boys home last May. So, I kept it pretty quiet but eventually started leaving little hints here and there that I really thought we had another daughter in China. He was not happy, and was certain we were done.

This is the picture I fell in love with.

So, a few months passed and I didn't bring it up again. I knew that Keliah was still available since I checked almost daily with our agency's list. In August, the kids started back to school and I simply could NOT stop thinking about her. I remember sitting on the couch watching some videos of her with a friend and I started tearing up. My friend asked me why I was crying and I said "because I know with all my heart and deep into my soul, that she is our daughter." It was about that time that I really started to be honest with Matt in that when I looked at her picture, I truly saw her in our next family picture. Of course, he thought I was nuts and reminded me again that we were done.

Fast forward to a few weeks later and I once again approached Matt about the idea of adding her to our family. This time, he did not say no, he did not say we were done, but he didn't say yes either. His response, "lets see what we can learn about her special need." That was good enough for me. I was on it.

Keliah was found at 4 months old and at 4 years old had surgery for a tethered cord. Her diagnosis in her file is tethered cord syndrome/spina bifida. I will be completely honest, this type of SN really did scare me (at first). Spina Bifida is such a broad medical issue. It can be very mild causing no problems, or it can be as severe as complete paralysis. We knew she wasn't paralyzed since we saw several videos from the agency camp she participated in. We saw her standing, walking, and even dancing (she told the agency she wants to be a dance teacher when she grows up).

Even though we knew she wasn't paralyzed, there are still several issues to consider with her medical issue. So, we asked for an update from the orphanage with VERY specific questions we wanted answered. They were very quick to get back to us, and we were able to send off the information that we had, and the info that we had just received to an International Adoption Doctor as well as local doctors who specialize in spina bifida. Of course they all started off with saying that they really couldn't give a 100% diagnosis without actually seeing her, but that from what they could tell, she would probably just have to be monitored to make sure the spine didn't tether up again. The adoption doctor even went on to say that she thought our biggest concern should not be her tethered cord, but adjusting into a family at such an "old" age. Well, that was obviously something we were more than willing to take on.

So, after a few more days of what ifs, we decided to do exactly what we did with Mylee, Drew and especially Jaxon's adoptions. We completely stepped out in faith and signed the letter of intent and sent if off the very next day, and got started on compiling our dossier. About a week later, we received our PA and were finally able to share our news with everyone.

When we first started our adoption journey with Mylee, we were pretty naive of the special needs we would consider, and those we would not even think about. Spina Bifida was at the top of the will not think about list. In our eyes, we already had three bio kids and didn't want to have to put them aside to care for a child with major medical needs. As I am typing this, I can't get over how shallow that seems now.

Mylee's special need was listed as clubbed feet. Matt and I didn't even really have to consider it much. We researched it and learned that it was a pretty easy "fix." Unbeknown st to us, Mylee's ortho needs were much worse than a series of casting to correct her feet. We still don't know if she truly had clubbed feet. And after surgeries, 10+ castings, and physical therapy, we still don't have a definite diagnosis. What we do have is one beautiful, spunky, smart, determined little girl that we love more than anything. Her special need does NOT define who she is.

I remember someone asking me once if we were angry because her needs were more than we thought we were getting into or if we had any regrets. Without hesitation I kindly explained to them that NO, we were not angry nor did we regret our decision to add Mylee to our family. I went on to let them know that there are NO guarantees in life and that any one of our biological kids could have been born with a medial condition. Was it because Mylee was adopted and we "chose" her that they felt like they could even ask those questions. Would they even consider asking those questions if it had been one of our bio kids? Why did they even think they could ask a questions like that? I don't think they expected the response they got, but hey, it's the truth.

So, our adoption path started out as a way to fulfill a dream I had as a child. I will admit that before we started on our journey to adopt, I had no idea how many orphans there were in the world. I had no idea the condition of the orphanages. I really didn't comprehend the impact of what being and orphan meant. I didn't even really get the role that God played in bringing Mylee home. And then my eyes were opened. I saw first hand what being an orphan meant. I saw firsthand the conditions of the orphanages, the massive amount of kids lying in their cribs not knowing what it feels like to be loved, hugged, or even touched. My eyes were open, and because of that, we have been blessed beyond measure to not only turn a dream into a reality by bringing Mylee home, but I cannot imagine our lives, and our family without Drew and Jaxon. Because my eyes have been opened, Matt and I have been able to step outside of what we thought our comfort zone was and look at special needs that we would not have even considered 3 years ago. Because my eyes have been opened, we are adding one more blessing from God to our family ~ Keliah Faith...

Don't forget, there is still plenty of time to get in a chance to win the iPad 2, cover, and iTunes gift card. We will be sending our final documents to our agency next week and would love to send in a check as well so our dossier can go to China. The sooner we get our dossier to China, the sooner we can bring Keliah home. She has been in the orphanage for exactly 9 years this month, lets not make it too much longer.

So, instead of buying one of these on the way to work,

or going through here on the way home,

Think about this face, and what that $4 or $5 could do to change her life...

If 263 people donated only $25.00, we could meet our goal. If only 131 people donated $50.00 we could meet our goal. I know that more people than that read my blog every day. The clock is ticking, the countdown has begun. After working for almost 8 months, the time has come to send in our paperwork to China so we can be that much closer to adding one more child of God into our family.

Uppin the Anty...

2011-04-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

Well, things are continuing to move along. Last week on Thursday we finally received our I-800A approval. I am certain our mail lady things I am certifiable after I spent all morning trying to find her and finally did around noon. She was super nice and searched for our mail and luckily, after all that, our I-800A approval was in the stack.

So, I came home, grabbed Mylee, Emma, and Jaxon and we took off for Indianapolis to get it authenticated by our Secretary of State. On the way I called to find out what time they called and was told not until 5:00, which gave me plenty of time to get down there. I was already making plans to take off on Friday morning for Chicago to get it authenticated at the Chinese Consulate. Jaxon really wanted to go to Chicago so we could go to Chinatown which I told him we could for a little bit then we would have to head back home.

We arrived at the Govt. building about 4:15 and made our way down to the Secretary of State's office to get everything authenticated. Once inside the office, we waited in line for our turn and was totally thrown for a loop. Apparently the original I-800A cannot be authenticated but a copy can. I was told I could make a copy in their office, but that I would also have to get it notarized saying it was an exact copy. No biggy, right? WRONG! There is only one place in all this huge multi city block Govt building that can notarize and wouldn't ya know it, they closed at 4:00! UGHHHH, I was SO frustrated. I explained that we drove over 2 hours to get this done and asked if there was anywhere else that could notarize it and was told that the banks in the building might do it, but they too closed at 4. By this time it was 4:30 so we took our chances and started asking anyone and everyone we say with a badge on if they were, or knew of anyone who could notarize something. Like I said earlier, apparently there is only ONE office in that building that can notarize and they were closed.

By this time it was 4:45 and we gave up. I asked what time they opened the following day so we could get there and get it done. My original plan was to get up at 7:00 the next morning, drive to Indy, get the authentication done, and then turn around and head up to Chicago which would be another three and a half hour drive north. Yes, I am crazy, but I really wanted to get this taken care of while I had the time off.

Once we got home, I started researching the courier services and it was actually cheaper for me to send it to a courier and have them drop it off at the Consulate. So, that is what we did and everything went into the mail this morning. The courier will get it tomorrow, take it to the Consulate on Thursday (she doesn't go on Wednesday) and will pick it up the following Monday. We will get it back on Tuesday, and will express mail it to our agency so they will receive it on Wednesday.

We are so, so close to being DTC. The good news is that we could be DTC next Wednesday or at the latest next Thursday depending on what time they receive our paperwork on Wednesday. The not so good news is that we are still short quite a bit of money to get our dossier to China.

I'm stressing, no, I in panic mode now. We have been waiting 8 months to get our dossier to China. When we first submitted our LOI back in September our goal was to be DTC sometime in January or February. One we received our PA, we were told we had to be DTC by February 4th. Who knew we would have to jump through so many hoops to get Matt's physical released, that alone took 3 months. Ridiculous! Then, February came and went and our agency had to ask for an extension to get our dossier to China.

We are SO close. We are within days of being DTC. This is the point we have been looking forward to for so long. Being DTC is huge in the adoption process. It basically means that everything is now in the hands of the Chinese (and to be honest, they move faster than our own govt.). It is the time when we can actually sit back, and sort of relax, knowing that there is nothing else we have to compile, sign, authenticate, etc. It is the time that we are that much closer to bringing our daughter home. The only thing standing in our way is now is of course, the money. Why is it that when it is all said and done, it always comes down to the money? I simply cannot imagine getting to this point and not having the money we need.

So, we're going to up the anty...

Not only will you get the awesome iPad 2

You will get the iPad cover in your choice of color

And if that wasn't enough, we are also including a $50.00 gift card to iTunes to get you started with the apps of your choice.

These were the original ways to get entries for the awesome iPad 2 we are giving away.

1. For every $10.00 donated you will receive one entry or 3 entries for $25.00.
2. Post about the fundraiser on your blog then come back and post telling me you posted about it.
3. Post about the fundraiser on facebook.
4. Become a follower

Here are the NEW ways you can receive entries.

1. For every $25.00 donated, you will receive 5 entries!
2. For every $50.00 donated, you will receive 10 entries!
3. Post about the fundraiser on your blog, receive 3 entires!
4. Post about it on facebook, receive 3 entries!
5. Become a follower, receive 3 entries!

I know times are tough, and there are alot of great fundraisers going on right now, so please don't feel bad if you can't donate monetarily. We will definitely accept any and all prayers that we will raise the money we need by next week. There is nothing too big for God!

One final note, we have received some e-mails about people not wanting to donate through paypal, but would rather send a check. If you would rather do that, please e-mail me at mmyag@comcast.net and I will get you our address.

The Good, The Bad, and the AWESOME!

2011-04-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

SO, where shall I start? Do you want the good news, the bad news, or the awesome news? Hmmmmm....

Okay, here's the good...

After literally calling USCIS EVERYday for the past two weeks, I finally got some answers. Let me back up a bit. Remember me telling you that I knew of a couple of families that were getting their approvals before us even though they had sent in their application and were fingerprinted after us. Well, this past Friday I got a call from yet another parent letting me know that there approval was put in the mail Friday. I was excited for them, but once again frustrated for us. They turned in their application about a week after us, and were fingerprinted a day after us. According to USCIS, there is NO way this could happen because they have to go in order of the receipt. Do you see my frustration?

Well, me, being me, and not being able to give up control to easily called USCIS again first thing this morning. Once the officer got all my info he said "let me transfer you to the officer in charge of your case." WHOOO HOOO, finally (was pretty much all I was thinking). Well, that excitement was short lived when the officer who answered the phone was our officer from last time, NOT our current officer. She was very nice though in telling me that we were still pending and had not yet been assigned an officer. I thanked, hung up, and called right back. This time, I explained again that we other couples were getting their approvals before us and was told again, that there is no way that is possible. That is when I kindly asked to speak to a supervisor.

Once the supervisor came on the line, I explained (again) what was going on and how I just didn't understand what was taking so long. He tried to tell me that it could take up to 90 days to get the approval. That was when I decided to get a little more how shall I put this, pushy (not exactly the first word that came to mind, but I never know if kids might be reading this). So, I politely said this to him "I understand that is your policy, and that is how things are SUPPOSED to work, but you and I both know the approval are NOT taking 90 days and that that is just a number you give out so people like me won't bug you everyday." After a couple of seconds of silence from him, he chuckled, asked for my call back number and said he would see what he could find out.

Ten minutes later, he called me back to let me know that somehow, our paperwork was still sitting in the record office (whatever that is) and that is pulled it himself, and was going to personally assign it to an officer today and ask that it get looked at asap. That was good enough for me, I thanked him, and apologized for being so "pushy." Before I hung up, he said "ma'am, sometimes it pays off to be pushy." Yes, yes it does.

Again, even though I had his word, that he was going to take care of it, that just wasn't good enough for me. So, I decided to wait until later this afternoon and call back to see if I could at least talk to the officer in charge and maybe persuade him to look at our file today. I called back and spoke to a super nice lady with the cutest little Southern accent who kindly told me once again, we had not been assigned an officer. She did say that since the supervisor personally put it on a desk, it may not show up in the system until the officer was actually working on it. I thanked her and said I would call back closer to closing time to check again.

This time, less than minutes later, I got another call from the Southern accent lady letting me know that she walked around to everyone's desk and was able to locate our application and that she was going to transfer me to the officer in charge of our case. My reply to this, "oh, I could just kiss you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

So, she transferred me to the officer in charge of our case, and after hopefully the last time explaining the whole story to him, he assured me that he would look over it today and as long as there were no problems, it would go in the mail tomorrow. Now, last time I checked neither Matt nor I have been convicted of a crime, and Officer **** did not call back, so that must mean our approval will go out tomorrow. YIPPEEEE!!!!!

Just to ease your minds, YES, I will most definitely be calling again tomorrow morning just to make sure we have been approved and it is in the mail.

If it is, my biggest prayer will be that we get it by Thursday so I can take it to Indianapolis Friday. The kids are on spring break this week and I am off Thursday and Friday so, please pray that we get it Thursday.

I e-mailed our agency to let keep them updated since we have already asked for an extension because of Matt's physical taking so long. Her response, "You're tenacious...I love it!" Tenacious, I like that much better than pushy.

I just keep telling myself, "everything happens for a reason."

So, that's the good news, now for the not so good news...

In order for us to be able to send our dossier to China, we need to come up with $5965.00. That is $5965.00 that we unfortunately do not have right now. Why don't we have it? Well, Matt has been out of work since February 3rd (again). Luckily, he has been busy with his side business. The only bad news about that is that the money we had set aside and planned to use from those side jobs has gone to pay our everyday living expenses.

We had a plan. In our eyes, it seemed realistic. But obviously, our plan and God's are a bit different. Matt is finally back to work and we can finally start putting his "extra" money towards bringing Keliah home. But for now, we are really under pressure to get our dossier to China especially since we have already asked for an extension. Obviously, the sooner we get our dossier to China, the sooner we can bring our girl home.

Now, for the awesome news...

This is not exactly the fundraiser we wanted to have (I am that is going to be down the road), but under the circumstances, we are putting something together quickly so we can be that much closer to bringing Keliah home. We have several other fundraising ideas in future to help pay for travel expenses, etc. We are planning a garage sale in June, we will be hopefully be getting our tax refund back soon, we are also talking about doing some sort of local fundraising. But right now, is what we need to focus on. One day at a time.

After alot of research we have decided to auction off one of these bad boys...

This my friends, is the newly released iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G - 16GB

The all-new thinner and lighter design makes iPad 2 even more comfortable to hold. It's even more powerful with the dual-core A5 chip, yet has the same 10 hours of battery life.1 With two cameras, you can make FaceTime video calls,2 record HD video and put a twist on your snapshots in Photo Booth. And the iPad Smart Cover attaches magnetically and wakes up, stands up and brightens up your iPad 2.3
What's Included

* Apple® iPad™ 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G - 16GB

Product Features

* 9.7" LED-backlit display with IPS technology
* Dual-core A5 chip
* Front and back cameras
* Up to 10 hours of battery life
* Built-in Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
* 3G data service with AT&T (data plan sold separately)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
* 16GB flash storage
* Over 65,000 apps made for iPad, available from the App Store

Now, you must be asking yourself how you can get your hands on this beauty. Well, you have several chances to win, just see below.

1. For every $10.00 donated you will receive one entry or 3 entries for $25.00.
2. Post about the fundraiser on your blog then come back and post telling me you posted about it.
3. Post about the fundraiser on facebook.
4. Become a follower

So, my friends, we are one again stepping out in faith and asking for your help. The adoption community is an amazing community of people. I have made so many friends through adoption and I cannot imagine my life without them. Adoption has taught me so much and opened my eyes to so much. Much more than I expected or bargained for. It has taught me to relax and be patient. It has taught me to give up control. It has taught me to step out of my comfort zone and let faith lead the way. It has shown me that anything, and I mean anything is possible with God on your side. Adoption has also shown me and made me apart of a very small (but growing) community. A community that sees the importance of every child having a family. A community that bands together to help each other. A community that I am SO proud to be a part of.

We need a total of $5965.00 to send our dossier to China. That total plus the $630.00 for the iPad, we need $6595.00 to continue on our journey. I have seen much more raised in a much smaller amount of time. So, as I like to say to my kids when we need to get something done,

"LETS DO THIS!"

Frustrations and Doubt and Faith OH MY!

2011-03-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am SO frustrated today! It seems everything with Keliah's adoption is moving in slow motion. First there was the 3 month wait for Matt's medicals to be released. We were supposed to have our dossier in China by now, February 4th to be exact. Our agency had to ask for an extension.

I was certain once we sent off for our I-800A application things would pick up. In fact, we were able to get our fingerprints done 2 weeks before our actual scheduled appointment. We were fingerprinted on March 7th, and they have received and accepted our fingerprints, but we still don't have approval nor have we been assigned an officer yet.

The really frustrating part is being told that it is taking about 90 days from the time your application was received which would technically put us at around May before we get our approval. Every. Single. Day. I call, and every, single, day, I am told the exact same thing. It's there, but is still waiting in que.

So, you can imagine my anger, frustration, and utter disappointment when I hear of other adoptive families who were fingerprinted AFTER us getting their approvals BEFORE us and even sending their dossiers to China this week. And of course when I tell immigration this, they don't know how that is even possible since everything is done in order of when the applications were received. They assure me that it just isn't possible an the other families must be mistaken. Really? Because I am sure there is no way to be mistaken when you get the final document you need to send your dossier to China. The final document that is keeping you from being able to breath a sigh of relief knowing that you are one step, one huge, ginormous step closer to your child.

If all would have went as planned, we would be waiting on our LOA right now, or may have even had it by now. When we started this process last fall, our goal was to be DTC by January with hopes of traveling in summer. Now, with all the set backs and delays, we will be lucky to go early fall. Do you see why I am so frustrated?

There are days when I feel like kicking and screaming. There are days when I feel like crying. And yes, there are days when I can't help but question this whole darn process. I can't help but wonder if we are indeed on the right path. It's hard not to question when I think of all the roadblocks we have encountered, the hurdles we have jumped, and the brick walls we have run into head on. These have to be tests. Tests of our faith. Tests of our commitment. I sure hope we are passing, because I really don't think I could handle failing Him.

Adopting from China is something I dreamed of doing someday. I had visions of a daughter with eyes the shapes of almonds that disappeared when she smiled. She would have silky, black hair as dark as the night. The first pictures I ever saw of Mylee caught me off guard. Staring back at me from my computer was the almond eyes I dreamed about. I knew instantly she was our daughter. How could she not be, she was the little girl in my dream. On our flight home, I knew in my head our family was complete, but my heart was already telling me something else.

Fast forward to now and we are approaching our 1 year anniversary of bringing Drew and Jaxon home. Never in a million years did I think we would have 6 kids, let alone 7. And adding an older child to our family was NEVER in the picture, until we saw Jaxon's picture. Something in his eyes spoke to me and told me everything would be okay. So we really stepped out in faith on his adoption, and honestly, I wouldn't change anything about it.

I knew we weren't done with them. I felt it deep within my bones we had another daughter waiting for us, and I knew when I saw Keliah's pictures that she was our daughter. I remember sitting with a friend watching videos of Keliah dancing tearing up and telling her "this is our daughter, she is meant for our family." This was before I even approached Matt about the possibility.

I don't feel like I can talk to many people about my frustrations and fears. The only ones who truly get it are those who have or are walking in our shoes. Most of our friends and family think we are crazy. That's okay though, because we know we are. They don't understand why we would put ourselves through this again and again. The roller coaster of emotions. The financial stress it puts on us and our kids. The everyday life of having 6 kids. I don't know how to really answer them other than it is so worth it. The feeling of being handed your child (Mylee) you have dreamed of for years erases all the stress and emotions. The feeling of seeing your son (Drew) run to you saying "mama" as he wraps his arms around you for the first time erases the feelings of doubt. The feelings of seeing your son (Jaxon) petrified of leaving the only life and family he has ever known is worth the unknowns.

Through all of the emotions, the stresses, and the uncertainties, there is one thing that has remained constant. Our faith.

It was our faith that turned our dream into a reality when we brought Mylee home.

It was our faith that led us back to China for a son who is the most loving little boy.

It was our faith that opened our eyes to the possibilities of adopting an older child, one that has blossomed before our eyes.

It is our faith that will see us through in bringing Keliah home. It is He who will be there with us riding the roller coasters, jumping over the hurdles, and knocking down the walls. It is He who will be there when we are united with our daughter.

So, with everything going on I am asking you to please send up a few prayers for us. He will know exactly what you are praying for. He will hear your prayers as He has heard them before.

I am So excited to launch our next fundraiser. I should have it up and running by the end of the week.

Auctions for Keliah

2011-03-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted much lately, but I can assure you it has been for a good cause. I am working on some more fundraising ideas and have been completely consumed with getting everything together so I can share about it here, with all of you. I am really hoping you all love it.

For now, I just wanted to let everyone know I have several auctions listed on Ebay that will be ending soon and apply the money from those auctions to adoption expenses. You can see the auctions here. There are some really cute outfits on there in sizes ranging from 12 months up to size 10 girls. I have listed the boys things too and they range from sizes 3-7. Everything listed is perfect for spring and summer especially now that spring is in the air (well maybe, we are supposed to get snow again at the end of the week)/

My goal is to start the new fundraiser next week, but for now, here is a sneak peak...

Oh, I also wanted to let you know that my dear friend Melissa met her beautiful daughter Cora today in Nanning China. Hop on over to their blog and check out their beautiful newest family member.

And They're Off

2011-03-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that my friend Melissa is boarding a plane today to finally go to China to meet her new daughter. Melissa and I met a few months after we brought Mylee home at our agency's picnic. She and her husband were starting the paperwork to adopt from China, but couldn't actually submit their dossier until they both turned 30 in January (7 months later). And wouldn't ya know it that God had a few twists and turns in their process. While compiling their dossier paperwork, Melissa found out that she was pregnant which meant they would have to put their adoption on hold.

Even though they had to put their adoption on hold, Melissa continued to come to our mom's nights and playgroups (there is about 6 groups of parents right here in our town that have adopted from the same orphanage) and was taking it all in. I think of all of us, she is by far the most prepared for their adoption. We were completely honest with her at mom's night, we shared the good and the bad. We told her what to expect and what not to expect.

In March of 2010 their beautiful baby girl, Olivia was born and as soon as she turned one (because there needs to be at least a year in between the youngest kids in the home), they began the process to finally bring home their daughter from China. They were logged in in September and got their referral in October. They could not have been more excited!

Today (actually about this very minute), they are boarding a plane to complete the dream they started almost 3 years ago. I am so blessed to be able to share this journey with them, and even more blessed to call her my friend. I am SO excited for them and cannot wait to see Melissa with Cora in her arms.

You can follow their journey here if interested.

"Children Of God" - Official Music Video

2011-03-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Grab a tissue, this is a powerful video!

Fingerprints!

2011-03-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

Matt, Gabe, Mylee, Drew and I all drove to Indianapolis Wednesday (2 hours from our house) to get our fingerprints. Our office does walk-ins on Wednesdays so in an effort to make up for some lost time, we decided to go ahead and do a walking even if it meant sitting in the office all day waiting our turn. With the kids in tow and plenty of snacks, games, and books, off we went.

Surprising, we were in and out of the office in less than 10 minutes. Actually we didn't even make it in to the office because the security guard would not let us. Apparently our receipt letter was NOT what we needed to do a walk-in. We needed our actual appointment letter in order to do a fingerprint walk-in. Frustrated does not even begin to describe how I felt at that moment. Luckily there was a lady that offered to check to see if we had an appointment in the system and said that if we did, she could go ahead and do our prints. We stood there (outside the office) for about 5 minutes before she came back to let us know that there wasn't anything showing we had an appointment yet. So, she said that once we did get our appointment letter, no matter when the appointment was, we could do a walk-in any day of the week.

So, we left, got in the car and I called the number on our receipt letter to see if there was anything anyone could do. After 15 minutes or so on hold, I finally was able to talk to a super nice lady who really did try everything she could especially when she realized we had driven 2 hours, with three kids, and were sitting in the parking lot. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do other than tell us that we were in Que for an officer and once an office was assigned to our case, an appointment would be made. So,we gave up, and drove home.

I just kept telling myself that no matter how frustrated I was, there was nothing I could do about it. I remember thinking to myself that this is another example of giving up control and just letting everything fall where it may.

This morning I called the Hague office and again spoke to a very nice man who informed me our appointment letter was mailed yesterday and our appointment is scheduled for March 29th. So, it should be here next week and hopefully, Matt and I are able to arrange our schedules so we can go back down next week.

And the Winners Are...

2011-02-28T07:32:00.000-08:00

God is good! Plain and Simple! Just about a month ago, Matt and I were seriously contemplating not moving forward with the adoption of Keliah. I really, really, did not want to have to turn to our blog to fundraise this time, but with the support and prayers of some other wonderful adoption mommas, I decided that it was at least a try. Matt and I had decided that if it was God's will, then He would show us we are on the right path.

A little over a month ago we couldn't even submit our I-800A application and still needed to get some fees to our agency. Within a week and a half of opening the fundraiser, I was mailing our application. Today, I am so excited to tell you that we have received our receipt letter and will be going to Indianapolis for walk in fingerprints on Wednesday (that is the day our office will allow walk ins so we don't have to wait any longer for our appointment).

Today, because of you, we were able to raise $1810.00 towards bringing Keliah home. In my opinion, it is because we gave up control and handed it over to the man in charge. He showed us once again, that it is His will for us to add another child to our family. He has showed us once again, that we are on the right path despite any roadblocks we may encounter. He has showed us, once again, that our trust, belief, and faith in Him will get us through this journey and untie us with our daughter.

I've said it before, adoption is not easy. It is not something you just wake up one day and say "hey, lets adopt a child." It is definitely emotionally, financially, and physically draining at times. Adoption is unpredictable, and full of unknowns. It tests your patience, and even your faith at times. But through all the ups, the downs, and the unknowns, there is one thing for certain. Adoption is nothing short of a miracle. The amount of love I have for ALL my kids is unconditional and overflowing. They each have brought so much joy and love to our family and filled voids in our hearts we didn't even know we had.

Now on to what you have all been waiting on...

The winner of the beautiful ABC inc head band is Jean (who is getting ready to travel herself and bring home two more treasures from China).

The winners of the Matilda Jane gift cards are:

C.S. (I have sent you an e-mail letting you know you won)

Mary Aiken ( I have already contacted you and your card is in the mail)

Congratulations to the winners and THANK YOU again and again for helping us to fulfill His plan.

T Minus 92 minutes

2011-02-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

Just a quick reminder that the Matilda Jane giftcard and ASC Inc headband giveaway will end tonight at 8:00 p.m. We still need to raise a little over $700 to meet our goal and cover the cost of the gift cards.

Giveaway Rules:

Matilda Jane gift card giveaway: We are giving away 2 $200 gift cards to Matilda Jane Clothing. The second release of MJ's new line will be released on March 1, so two lucky winners will get some beautiful clothes and at the same time, help give a child a home.

1. For every $10.00 donated you will receive one entry or 3 entries for $25.00.
2. Post about the fundraiser on your blog then come back and post telling me you posted about it.
3. Post about the fundraiser on facebook.
4. Become a follower

The headband donated by ABCDinc

1. For every $5.00 donated you will receive one entry or 3 entries for $10.00.
2. Post about the fundraiser on your blog then come back and post telling me you posted about it.
3. Post about the fundraiser on facebook.
4. Become a follower