Anna's First VBS...

Last week, Anna attended her first Vacation Bible School. Obviously, she didn't attend a class, but she was there with her brothers, looking really cute...so that counts :-)

Cutest little girl there...seriously!

In the last few days, Anna has really kicked it up a notch. She is playing lots, lots more and she is actually grinning. She smiled before, but there is a difference. She squints up her eyes and makes an effort to spread her mouth and show her teeth. She sometimes does it even when she doesn't know she is being watched. It is really cute. She is also being more inquisitive and showing out. She likes to have everyone's attention and put on a show. The other day, she was on the kitchen table (I know...bad thing, but it was surrounded by family members) and she was dancing and doing her "shoulder thing". She makes one shoulder come up to her ear over and over...it is like it is a little dance move of her's or something. We would laugh at her and she would start all over again.

Cheese!

Anna has started saying "bye bye" and saying "hi" more. Last night we were sitting in the den and she would open her mouth and slowly say "hhhhhiiiiii". We did it back and forth with each other many times. She would watch my mouth when I would say it. It was almost like you could see those little wheels turning as she opened her mouth and repeated it back to me. She is "jabbering" lots more too. She is making many different sounds. I don't think it will be long until she gives us some more words. But she has "mamama" mastered, so that's the main one that matters :-)

Anna also took off her pjs on her own. She woke up and I was making her breakfast before getting her...when I got to her room her pjs were thrown in the floor and she was just in her diaper. It was the first time she had attempted, to my knowledge, to take off her clothes. I was pretty impressed. She is also climbing stairs now. She had gotten up on the first step before, but never attempted to go further. Now, she will keep going until we stop her. She can climb really good, but of course it is that coming down part that she hasn't mastered. She is 20 months now, almost 21 months. She had been acting like a "walking infant" before, but now she is really starting to act more like a toddler. Exploring, touching, climbing, fussing with displays of her temper...she still has a ways to go, but she is definitely making huge strides.

Carter and Jacob were to start school tomorrow, but due to some air conditioning problems at the county middle school, it has been postponed until Monday....YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They can put it off until September on my account. So we have a few more days of the whole crew at home and a few more days without having a "real" schedule.

The boys had open house the last two days, Carter on Monday, Jacob last night. I asked who they wanted to take them or if they wanted us all to go. They both just wanted Anna and me to go. It was really sweet. They wanted to take Anna to their teachers from last year and show her off. They were just busting with pride and grinning ear to ear. I asked them about what they wanted her to wear and they were both very serious about what outfit she had on. They wanted her to "look cute". She did.

Glad summer break is extended at least 2 more days and sending love from Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker and Anna.

It's Like She's Always Been Here...

Our house without Anna...it's hard to remember. Anna is such a wonderful fit in our lives, it is hard to imagine our lives without her. Yes, I remember when it was just the 3 boys and I was frantically gathering paperwork, waiting for news from our agency, praying for the next milestone to come, but it seems so long ago. It is hard to believe we have only been home just a little over a month.

Anna, ready for her first "real" outing since coming home.

So much has happened in the last month. Anna has made huge leaps and bounds. She is gaining weight, much more vocal and loves to play. She is actually becoming quite the jokester. She loves to "make you think" that she is going to kiss you or come to you and then right when she is in reach, she turns quickly to walk away. All the while with a sly grin on her face.

She does love her Daddy.

She is getting more used to having 3 brothers in the house. She knows what to do to get her way and what to do to get them to stay away. Parker, bless his mischievous heart, can come towards her and depending on her mood, she will immediately start fussing. Almost like she is tattling on him for getting too close. He is still learning to be gentle and to not try to grab her face and kiss her - constantly. It is almost like he just gets so excited to love on her, he just goes overboard...but sometimes, she humors him and it is too cute!

In the last month, Anna has had her first pediatrician visit and got her first round of immunizations. She was so good at the doctor's visit. She was very compliant and was just a perfect little trooper. Her immunizations, were the same. She had to have 6 shots. 2 in each leg and 1 in each arm. She was so pitiful for about 2 minutes, then she was her normal self. She ran a fever for about 1 day, but never really fussed. I kept Tylenol in her just in case she were to be uncomfortable. Our local health department is checking with the CDC to see if they suggest redoing all her immunizations or not. If so, we have to go back in 2 months for another round, if not, we go back in January.

I have talked with Shriner's in Cincinnati as another option for her palate surgery. We are still undecided about where and when. I have had another adoption professional suggest we wait a few more months to eliminate any potential set backs due to the pain. I don't want to rush it for sure, but I don't want to wait and cause any further speech delays/impediments that might be caused due to waiting.

You've read the cute poem about fingerprints on the doors and furniture...have you heard the one about the "footprints" on the furniture?!? I dust and come back in 5 minutes, max, only to discover my 3 year old has been dancing on the coffee table.

Why do I clean my house?

Anna definitely knows her name now. She can be turned around or around a corner and we can call her name and she will turn or come around the corner. Parker also knows her name. When she gets into the cabinets, he says, "Anna Mei, no, no." He likes the bossy part of being a big brother.

Our first Independence Day with Anna was not quite what we had hoped. I was very excited about her first 4th of July in America, we had plans to go to my cousin's house for a cookout and Anna had some very cute "Patriotic" attire to boot. Late July 3rd, a stomach virus hit our house and it hit hard. I was up nearly all night with Carter and Parker. When one wasn't up sick, the other was and if there was a few minutes between the two, I was cleaning up from where someone didn't make it to the bathroom...sorry for any visuals. So, on the Fourth, we had Anna quarantined upstairs with Rodney hoping the germs wouldn't infest her little body. I knew that if she were to get sick, it wouldn't take long for her to become dehydrated fast. I had been in the sickness all night, so I tried to stay away from her as much as I could in case I was infected. So our Fourth was very uneventful in the means of Patriotism, but in the sense of busy, it was a full day! Sheets, towels, rugs, and clothing was washed, floors were mopped (3 times), trashcans sanitized and kids were bathed (Parker 3 times...yes, this is related to the 3 times mopping the kitchen floor...again sorry for the visual). The reality of having multiple kids getting sick simultaneously hit hard. Next, year...we are going to celebrate BIG!

This was our July 4th. The boys downstairs watching movies with strict instructions to not go near Anna.

Happy 3rd Birthday Parker!

Anna was fascinated with the wrapping paper

We had to incorporate about 4 themes in his birthday, Spider-Man 3 cake, Transformer card, Ninja Turtles Shirt and Pirates of the Caribbean Action Figures...he loved it.

Last Thursday, we had a little photo session. It was such a grand idea. Should have thought it through a little better. It was the four kids and myself, all dressed up, for an outdoors photography session. By the time, we got to our location, Parker was totally disheveled, wrinkled and ready to play, not sit and smile. Anna was hot and not cooperative. Carter was hungry and very adolescent. And Jacob, he was aggravating Parker every chance he got. I seriously thought I was going to go nuts and the poor photographer...I am surprised she didn't say, "never mind." It was so hot and the kids were so not in the mood. I just hope there are a few good ones. But, thankfully, the photographer is super nice and sweet and was so gracious and willing to do whatever to make it work. She definitely earned her money that day. Hopefully, we will get them back this coming Friday and I will be able to post some good ones. I sure hope so, cause I hate the thoughts of having to do that again!!

After we got home, I took Anna out in the yard for a few snap shots. These are a few of my favorites.

She makes this face when "she thinks" she is being funny

We are so blessed to have our family. I cannot imagine not having Anna in our lives. When I think about how easily we could have missed out on this blessing, it just makes my chest hurt. How many times does God want to bless us and we reject Him? The journey was not easy and it took God's strength and faith in Him to make it, but I would do it again in a heart beat. What He calls us to do, He will supply all the strength, resources and means to accomplish His will. The method of His provisions may not be in the way we expect or even desire, but there is always a lesson or another blessing in the ways that He sees fit to provide. I had to learn a few lessons in pride but in those lessons, I was so touched by those who desired to help us bring our daughter home. I know that God not only blessed us with the means to bring Anna home, but I know that He will bless those who blessed us.

Undeservingly, we were blessed again with another precious child. We are so grateful and humbled by His mercies and blessings upon us. I hope that our family can be an encouragement to others to seeks God's will in adoption for their family. There are so many children throughout the world that need and deserve a loving family. It is our prayer that what God has done in our lives will somehow help another child, even if only one, find their family. I am so thankful that Anna found her's.

So blessed to be a mother to four and sending love from Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna.

Home Sweet Home...

I cannot even begin to explain how totally thrilled we are to be home. I have been in a "zombie" like state for a few days, but we are starting to come out of the fog to reality. Things have been busy, busy or lazy, lazy around our house and this is the first time that I had the time and energy to post...sorry for those who have been checking daily for "coming home" pictures :-)

I woke up Friday, June 15th, around 4:00 am to start getting ready to leave and to make sure that everything was packed. I obsess about forgetting something important. I got up, got showered, did a final check and I fixed Anna a bottle and Rodney got her ready to leave. We left the hotel around 5:45 am and headed for the airport.

Anna was wide awake all the way to the airport and did so well. It was about a 45 minute drive and there was no fussing all the way. I had the same anxious anticipation feeling in the pit of my stomach as I did when we left for China. I didn't know what to expect, how Anna would react to the plane ride, nervous about everything going smoothly, and so excited to see my boys I was just beside myself.

We got out at the airport and began the "herding" process. We checked in our baggage and then went through customs and security. After going through security, I was the first one out and this man stopped me and said, "Honolulu?" I said, "no". He said, "yes, Northwest, Honolulu. Boarding, no time. Get on car, no time, boarding, no time." Unknown to me, we were on the connecting flight from Guangzhou to Honolulu with a stop in Tokyo.

Okay, I knew that we should have had an hour before leaving, but the screen was saying boarding and this guy was had such an urgency about him, we hopped on the car, waiting for Angela, Karen and Olivia and said, "Go." "Money," he said. We should have gotten off the car then, but we didn't. We paid him what he wanted. He zoomed us through the airport to our gate and we got off...only to sit on the plane for at least 30 minutes. He must have thought, "suckers!" I told Rodney when we were going through the airport that I thought we were getting ripped off, but he said it was well worth the money to not have to pack those bags.

I had Anna in the carrier and a backpack on my back. Poor Rodney looked like a beaten down, overloaded mule. He had a rather large duffel bag, a smaller carry on, the laptop bag and the camcorder/digital camera bag. I had all the bags totally stuffed and they weighed probably 2x more than when we were going to China. People would joke me about him carrying all the stuff...but I had Anna, what could I do??? ;-)

We boarded the first plane to Tokyo and had a seat between us. We were pretty packed in, even with the extra seat. It really made me dread the upcoming flight that was booked. I was trying to figure out how we could organize better...but small airplane seats, no foot room, a baby and a backpack...there was no solution. Anna loved to sit on my lap and look out the window of the plane. The flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo only took about 4 hours and she did awesome.

We got to Tokyo, bid farewell to our China traveling buddies as they boarded the plane for Detroit and we boarded for Minneapolis. Thankfully, we sat beside a really nice man, who was very understanding of our situation. He never huffed or puffed when one or both of us had to get up. Anna did well on the flight. Considering that she got up really early and we were shuffling her from "pillar to post", she acted like an experienced world traveler.

There were times that she got pretty fussy, but she was tired, I am sure her ears felt weird (mine did), and we were uncomfortable the majority of the flight. She slept probably 5 hours combined of the flight, which I think was pretty good. I was next to the window, so I had her the entire time, except for a few minutes here and there when I was trying to fix a bottle or get a diaper. At one point, she was really sleeping good, so we did lay her across our legs so she could stretch out and my arms could rest.

We hit some turbulence and I got some motion sickness. Thankfully Anna had fallen asleep and I could concentrate on trying not to throw up. I put the air directly on my face and focused on breathing in and out. I finally fell asleep for about 45 minutes and was better when I woke up. After about 11 hours we were finally in Minneapolis and the United States of America - Thank God!

We unboarded the plane and had to go through Immigration. Because Anna was not a citizen we had to go through the "non-resident" line, which was really short. We stepped up to the window and the CIS officer was super nice. He asked about our trip and then said, "so she has a cleft lip and palate?" I answered yes and he said, "so do I". After he said that, I could see his scar. So Anna was welcomed to the United States by someone with the exact same special need as herself. He congratulated us and wished Anna well.

We then had to claim our baggage, go through customs and re-check our bags. That was a site. I had Anna again in the carrier, the backpack, two wheeled suitcases and our paperwork, while Rodney had all the carry ons and two wheeled suitcases. We were anxious to get our stuff checked back in and Anna was wanting a bottle. Thankfully, they didn't give us any grief in customs or security and we made our way to the gate to wait for our FINAL FLIGHT!!!

Our first American meal, was nothing else, but McDonalds. I had a cheeseburger Happy Meal and Rodney had a Big Mac Meal. Anna ate her bottle and we had about 45 minutes before boarding, so I took Anna to the restroom to get her cleaned up and changed.

I am surprised someone didn't call security on me. She screamed from the moment I laid her on the changing table until I picked her back up...well, except for the moments that she was silent because she had to catch her breath from crying so hard. She hates hygiene! I just changed her diaper, washed her off from head to toe and then put on clean clothes. She was furious. But, she was clean and cute :-)

Finally, it was time to start our flight to Nashville. We boarded the plane, dreading yet another flight, but so ready to be home. Anna fell asleep on Rodney and slept the majority of the flight. I think the bathroom scene totally wiped her out. The flight lasted about 2 hours and we were finally at the Nashville Airport!!!

Biggest brother Carter

My niece Caroline, aka Superman

Big Brother Parker

Friend Heather, Sister-in-law Amy, Big Brother Jacob and my OLDER sister Stephanie

Rodney's parents, Ronald and Faye, my sister's husband, Rick, and their son, my nephew Jack

We grabbed our carry ons, walked off the plane, out of the gate and I was almost in tears. I knew that somewhere in this building my boys were waiting for me....well, Rodney and Anna too, but I was going to get to touch them and kiss them and hug them...I was seriously about to have a breakdown.

ALL the Boys waiting for our arrival. Carter, Jacob and Parker, along with cousin Jack and Harris.

I gathered myself and Rodney and I were in a sprint to get pass the security checkpoint where we knew they would be waiting. As we started rounding the corner, I could see my father-in-law standing. I told Rodney and he was jerking his head from side to side trying to see someone, all while we were speed walking. When we turned the final corner to the opening, Carter, Jacob and Parker come running towards us. There couldn't have been a more beautiful sight to come home to.

We hugged and kissed and laughed and they were totally enthralled with Anna. Parker looked like he had grown a foot and was talking in more structured, adult like sentences. Carter and Jacob were so sweet to us and to Anna. Anna, still in the front carrier, was kicking her legs and didn't act upset at all.

I don't like "spotlight" attention. I knew that we were being watched by many, many people, but I didn't care. I had the "ugly cry" face, felt really nasty, been traveling for over 22 hours and was thoroughly enjoying the uniting of my family.

We were then greeted by other family members. Anna was taking it all in. She would look up to make sure that I was still behind her, but she let people touch her and talk to her without one fuss. They helped us get our luggage, get it loaded and we were ready for our drive home.

My little brother, Jonathan, giving Anna kisses

It takes us about 1 hour to get home from the Nashville airport and Rodney and I were expecting the worst about putting Anna in a car seat. She screamed the whole time I was putting her in and fastening the buckle and harness. Carter and Jacob were begging to sit next to her, so I told Rodney, she is going to scream whoever sits by her, so we let them. She screamed until we pulled out of the parking space and then she was done. She looked around, played with a couple of toys and scratched at the material on the car seat. She whined a couple of times, but I turned around, rubbed her leg and she was fine again.

I sat next to Parker and we "snuggled" the majority of the way home. He was so sweet and I was enjoying every little kiss and giggle. Carter and Jacob were telling us how that they and Anna were bonding. After about 20 minutes in the car with them, I felt that maybe I had over-emphasized the "bonding" and "adjustment" process with them. If they said it once, they said it 30 times in every tense of the words. "Anna is bonding, Anna has bonded, We are bonding, I think she has already bonding, Anna is adjusting, I bet she has already adjusted....".

I prepped them for 'worst case scenario' and they picked up on all the lingo. I wanted them to understand before we left that she might not "like" any of us for a while, but how that we would have to be patient while she adjusted and it might take her a while to bond. Well, they ran with it. It was sweet, but they were talking like psychologist back there.

We get home, I walk inside and there were signs made by the kids everywhere. They had painted welcome home, welcome to the family, we love you...it was sweet. I walked Anna through the kitchen and then to the living room. I sat her in the floor and she walked around like she owned the place. She covered the living room exploring everything in sight. She wouldn't go to the kitchen by herself, but she would walk from the living room to her bedroom.

Parker making signs for Anna at his Nanny and Pa's house

We had some visitors that night that wanted to take a peek at Anna. She let them hold her and played in the floor with the boys. She acted content and didn't act scared at all. I thought that it might be a repeat of the first time in the hotel room with her being clingy and not wanting to be sat down, but it wasn't. She would come to Rodney or myself occasionally for us to pick her up, but then she wanted right back down to play. We were so thankful.

The boys would pack her around or hold her constantly if I would let them.

Anna with her Nanny, Rodney's mom

Anna with her Pa Ronald, Rodney's dad. Can you see the goatee on his chin that wasn't there until he learned that Anna loved Rodney's? Anna also loves her Pa's facial hair :-)

Aunt Shanda, Rodney's sister, totally thrilled that Anna fell asleep on her

She fell asleep around midnight. Rodney and I were still pretty wired, so we watched some tv and I fell asleep. We got up and went to bed. I got in the bed around 3:00 am and Anna woke up around 4:00 am. Parker apparently woke up crying, woke Anna up and it was on. Parker got in bed with Rodney and I got in Parker's bed with Anna.

Anna's first night in her bed

She sat up in the bed and would smack my face, play with her toes, pull my hair...she was awake! Finally around 5:30 she wanted down in the floor. I put her down and she laid down and went to sleep. I went to sleep and slept for about 2 hours before everyone else was up and ready to go.

I forced myself to stay up and do something productive. I got all our luggage unpacked, clothes washed and somehow managed to stay awake during a real bad sluggish stage. Around 3:00 pm, I was so tired, I couldn't focus on anything. But I got a second wind and was good for the remainder of the evening. We had some more visitors and Anna again surprised everyone. A family friend brought us dinner and it was awesome. I love roast, potatoes and carrots...love it. I had told Rodney while we were in China how that I couldn't wait for my favorite meal, well, I didn't have to wait long. I made myself sick. I ate way, way too much.

I lost about 10 lbs while in China. On my second plate of roast Rodney, the super sweet guy that he is, asked me if I left my Chinese figure in China and was going to pick back up my American figure since I was home. I guess I am :-)

Parker may be a big brother, but he is still a baby too. He is doing really good with the shift of attention the past couple of days. We make sure we take time to show him extra attention and make him even more rotten than he is now.

It is natural to want to be so gentle and easy with her, but she is a rough and tough player. She looks like a 6 month old baby, but plays like linebacker. People laugh and comment about how little she is and her walking around just looks funny. She will get so excited she will take off running and tumble to the floor and roll around squealing with excitement. She acts like she has been here forever. We are so thankful that she is adjusting so well. I know that it may still be a long road, but as for now, everything is 500 times better than I had expected.

Grandma and Pa meeting Anna for the first time. My parents were out of town until late Sunday night. They came over to meet Anna.

Anna fell asleep around 2:30 am Monday morning and we got up around 7:30 am. She was awake, but hadn't cried. She stayed up until around 1:00 pm, when I put her down for a nap and she slept for about 3 1/2 hours until I woke her up again. She played really good and went to sleep again a little after 9:00 pm. I am hoping that she will sleep tonight somewhat "normal", for central standard time that is :-)

Today I had my first real day with four kids solo. Rodney worked and I was home alone with the whole slew of kids. It went really well. The boys played good with Anna and she was content. I got to do a couple loads of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, vacuumed and picked up the downstairs. I ran the vacuum and Anna wasn't scared at all. She followed me around watching me. She also ventured into the kitchen by herself. That was the first time she had done that. She is definitely getting more and more comfortable as time passes. She is so sweet and good.

I still have to do a reality check from time to time. It is hard to believe that she is really with us and we are really home. God continues to be so good to us in every aspect of this adoption. It is almost unreal how well she seems to be doing and is just a perfect addition to our family. The boys love her to pieces and all of our family is so thrilled that she is finally here.

Thankful for things getting back to a "new" normal and sending love from Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker and Anna

We Are Home...

We landed safely in Nashville around 5:27 pm. We were greeted by family members and friends. Anna did wonderful on the plane and believe it or not, she even rode in the car seat all the way home without much complaint.

She is asleep in her bed, in her room, in her house, in her state, in her country. She was so good meeting the family members and the boys. She has played, laughed and been very open to everyone at the airport and those that visited us tonight.

I will tell all the details later with "pictures" :-)

Happy to be home and sending love to all of you from Rodney, Marcy, Carter, Jacob, Parker & Anna.

Farewell China...

I am so happy to be posting this final entry from China. It is a 8:45 pm and we leave the hotel tomorrow morning at 5:45 am. Our bags are packed and we are ready to bring our daughter home!

Today we had an early lunch because we skipped breakfast. We ate at Lucy's, yet again. After lunch, we came back to the room and Anna took a very short nap. We had to wake her up as we were meeting the family that adopted from orphanage at the White Swan for a red couch picture at 2:00. We were also meeting our guide at 2:30 at the White Swan for a red couch picture of Olivia Mei and Anna Mei.

Micah, Olivia and Anna were just too cute in their traditional Chinese attire. Anna and Micah initially didn't want to be sitting on the couch, but it wasn't long before they were holding hands and loving on each other...it was so cute.

After all the pictures, we got on a huge bus and headed for the U.S. Consulate. There were several families going, so we all rode one of the White Swan buses there.

It amazes me every time we go somewhere in Guangzhou, just how big it really is. There are 9 million people living in Guangzhou, which I know is a lot, but we drove for at least 45 minutes and the buildings never stopped...the traffic didn't thin. And the buildings aren't little 2 story here, 1 story there...they are huge 20 stories +, one after another. And the traffic is 3, 4 lanes each way, bumper to bumper. Pretty amazing.

We arrive at the U.S.Consulate and go through the security protocol. We go in and have a seat and wait to be called to the window. Our guide gave us a copy of our passports to give to the officer when we approached the window. He looked at our copies and then our faces, initialed and we had a seat again. Finally, an immigration officer came out, explained the process when we arrive in the first U.S. city, and gave the immigration oath. YEAH!!! WE ARE DONE!!!!

We got back on the bus, rode to the White Swan, walked to our hotel and started packing. We are finished here in China and now can begin our long trek home.

We leave China at 8:20 am, arrive in Tokyo, then Minneapolis where Anna will become a U.S. Citizen. When the CIS officer opens her "brown envelope" she will automatically become a citizen. It is a really cool thing and is very exciting to me. Her becoming a citizen is one of "those moments" that I have so looked forward to. It is one of those "official" moments where her new life begins. After our MN stop, Nashville here we come!! It will take about 2 hours to fly to Nashville and then we will drive about 1 hour home.

It will be interesting to see how Anna does in a car seat...can you imagine? She can hardly do a high chair for 10 minutes. She has never been in a car seat. I am sure it will be an experience for all of us :-)

Rodney and I are so thankful that God has allowed us to experience this adoption journey. We are thankful that He has lead us to our daughter and He has brought us safely thus far and have the faith that He will take us home. We cannot express what this journey has been for us. It has been filled with excitement, anticipation, sadness, hurt, joy, happiness, worry, concern, and an unexplainable love and peace. We will never neglect to give thanks for this child and the journey that lead us to her.

Thank you all for sharing in our joy and the words of support, love and excitement for our family. We appreciate your prayers and ask that you continue to remember us as we begin our new Journey with Anna Mei. We will be taking Anna for medical consults regarding her palate and pray that God will give us wisdom in making decisions for Anna.

With our guide, Connie, on the "red couch"

Boys,

We are too excited right now! We will be getting on a plane headed for home in less than 12 hours. We hope that the flight goes by quickly and can't wait to see the 3 most beautiful boys in the whole wide world!!! I can't wait to hear random facts from Carter and his sarcastic charm. I can't wait to see Jacob and his cute little grin and uncontrollable laughter when Carter tells a silly joke. I can't wait to hold Parker and hear "I ummmm you!" We love you boys soooo much and will see you very soon!!!!!

Farewell from China and sending love to my Parker, Jacob and Carter.