Orphanage Visit

Today we had the wonderful privilege of visiting Lily Rose's orphanage. We were SO impressed with the Shanghai Children's Home. The orphanage is home to over 600 children, and it is clear that each one is well-loved.

Lily was in a room with 18 other children and had four nannies that cared for her and her "classmates." The grounds and rooms were immaculate and more importantly the children were well-fed and well loved. It was evident in every room we visited!

While we were in Lily Rose's room the nannies asked her to show us her crib. She pointed to her crib and was quite proud when they told her she got it right. She wanted to get in her crib but as soon as I put her in she started to cry and wanted me to pick her up again. That was the one and only time she wanted out of my arms the whole trip. Our guide said that when one of the nannies asked Lily Rose to come to her, Lily Rose said "no", I was her mama now. Of course that thrilled me!!

The woman who showed us around is in charge of all adoptions. It was evident she knew the children and cared about them as much as their individual nannies. I had a package to deliver to one friend's daughter, and I asked about several other little girls waiting to be adopted. She took the time to pull each child out of their classroom so I could meet them and take photos.

While at the orphanage Torie and Michaela got to present 15 fleece tie blankets that they made. We gave them to Lily Rose's room and told the orphanage they could use them wherever they are needed. We pray they will be a blessing.

It was a great day, and I'm so thankful we got to visit and can share with Lily Rose how loved she was. Every time a new care giver would walk by us in the hallway they would say oh it's "Jinli" (her Chinese name) and come up and talk to her. What a blessing for us that she was in a place where she was so loved for her first 3 1/2 years!

She's Officially Our Daughter!

Today was a day of more paperwork, and they presented me with Lily Rose's red book (adoption families will understand this) at the Shanghai Marriage and Adoption Bureau. Then they stood me behind a podium and pronounced me Lily Rose's official parent. This was a new procedure from any of our previous adoptions. It was quite nice!

We came back to the hotel at noon and just ordered room service. I have a nasty cold and am feeling quite under the weather. This afternoon the girls and I were going to go for a walk and bit of shopping on Nanjing Rd. - a pedi-road (no cars allowed), but we decided to postpone it a day or two until I'm feeling better. Instead we've spent the afternoon watching DVD's on Torie's computer and the girls went to the hotel gym and worked out.

Lily Rose has entertained herself all afternoon with a few plastic spoons and stacking cups. I've brought the same stacking cups on all four adoption trips and those and the Cheerios have been mainstays for us! Lily Rose is also thrilled with the freedom to walk around the room in bare feet. Her walking is already getting steadier.

Lily Rose definitely has an opinion and a strong-will which she displays if one of her big sisters sits in the wrong spot or moves away one of her toys. She squeals and says something in the Shanghai dialect. Although we can't understand the words, the meaning is crystal clear. It makes us all laugh although we try to stifle our giggles since clearly it's not something we want to encourage!

Apart from her little strong-will, she smiles all the time. She has an amazingly good disposition.

Tomorrow we are doing some more sightseeing. We are going to the Shanghai Museum and the Yu Gardens and Old Shanghai. It should be a good day!

Thanks for all your prayers. We are truly blessed.

Lily Rose is in Our Arms!

Today we met Lily Rose for the first time, and it couldn't have gone better. I can't say enough good things about the Shanghai Children's Home. They clearly prepared Lily for our meeting. We sent a photo album of family pictures several months ago, and they obviously showed her the pictures and identified us. When they came into the room today they pointed to me and said "there is your momma." She got a huge grin and came right into my arms. She hasn't looked back since. Of course I had a big supply of Cheerios which has worked wonders with all four adoptions. It's the ultimate bribery tool. But she is the happiest, most easy going little girl!

Lily Rose did shed tears at nap time. I got her about 12 inches above the crib mattress before she made it VERY clear that the crib was NOT a good idea. So of course I just put her in bed with me. She whimpered a heart-breaking cry for about 5 minutes before she drifted off to sleep. Once she woke up she was thrilled by the freedom we allowed her when we put her down on the floor and allowed her to walk around the room. She likes to keep tabs on where I am and calls out "Mama" which thrills me!

She is a typical heart "baby". Despite the fact that she is 3 1/2, she is only walking an "old man's walk," as the girls and I call it. The orphanage's are very protective of the heart children and don't let them move around a lot. This would have been a bit disconcerting a few adoptions ago, but since this is our 3rd heart adoption, we're used to it by now. Thankfully we have a wonderful physical therapist at home that gets the girls up to speed in no time.

Other than the obvious large motor developmental delays, she seems to be doing wonderfully. She has definite clubbing of her fingers and toes. This isn't the same as club feet, but is actually related to her heart condition and is from lack of oxygen. Again, this isn't unexpected but is because her SAT's are only in the low 80's and have been for years.

Lily Rose is ticklish and giggles every time we tickle her belly. She has a ready smile and is talking some in the Shanghai dialect. Of course we have no idea what she is saying but it doesn't seem to bother her. She is also willing to imitate any word we say in English and delighted our little girls by saying all their names when we were on Skype with them today!

Thanks for all your prayers. The Lord has been so gracious in preparing Lily's heart for our family and ours for her. Today was a wonderful first day together. Thank you Lord!

Sunday in Shanghai

We got into Shanghai Saturday evening.  We didn't sleep a lot on the 13+ flight here and were thrilled to check into The Bund hotel and just relax for a little while before falling into bed and sleeping for a full 12 hours.   Today we enjoyed a day touring The French Concession which used to be an area with traditional Chinese homes along stone alleys.  During the 1920's it was taken over by the French and now the area is a blend of Chinese and French architecture and is a high-end restaurant and boutique "alley".  It was a beautiful area to take a stroll through and the weather even cooperated.  Even though it was in the high 80's/low 90's, there was a nice breeze.   Next we visited the Bund where we stood along the river and viewed the British Concession and enjoyed the architecture.  Then our guide, Jenny, told us we could take an underwater tunnel ride to get to the TV Tower which is also known as The Pearl Tower.  We took the tunnel which boasts a fabulous light show.  Let me just say...save your money on the tunnel ride if you are ever in Shanghai.  However, once on the other side of the river, we went to the top of the tower.  The day was clear, and we had a magnificent view of Shanghai which, according to our guide, boasts a population of 23 million.    For a city this size, Shanghai is a surprisingly clean city.  They have done an amazing job of landscaping, cleaning the streets and controlling the air pollution.  Compared to Xian and Beijing, the other 2 big China cities I've visited, Shanghai is a beautiful city.    At the base of the TV tower is a museum about the development of the city of Shanghai over the last 300-400 years.  Shanghai has a fascinating history especially from the Opium War forward.  I read quite a few biographies and historical fiction books, before traveling, set in Shanghai, and they really came to life when I was walking through the museum.      And finally we went to the Ziyuan Jewel Exhibit where they explained the difference between freshwater and saltwater pearls.  The jewel store had their own freshwater pearl farm.  We each bought a piece of jewelry (how could we pass it up??) to remember the stop.    Then Jenny dropped us off at an Italian restaurant.  While in China, eat Italian?  Evidently all the Chinese restaurants stop serving lunch at 2 p.m. and since it was 2:30 p.m., we had to opt for another restaurant.  We had the fun experience of ordering our food by pointing at the menu.  We, of course, speak no Mandarin and the servers in the restaurant spoke no English.  It's amazing how much you can get across with sign language.  We were even able to get a to-go box at the end of our meal.  We were quite proud of ourselves.   Now we are back at the hotel where we are going to enjoy a quiet evening and prepare for the main event...getting Lily Rose.  We meet Jenny, our guide, at 8:30 a.m. in the morning.  She will then drive us to a civil affairs office to fill out paperwork and meet our girl.  The hours can not pass quickly enough!

They're Off!

AnnaGrace, SarahMei, Isabelle and I dropped Elaine, Torie and Michaela off at the airport this morning at 10 am.  They are China bound and the girls at home are already counting the days until they get back:)  Elaine and I would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support as we have been walking through this adoption journey.  Elaine and I will make every effort to keep updating the blog over the next two weeks.  Again, thank you for your prayers and support as we anticipate the arrival of LilyRose!  She will be in Elaine's arms on Monday and thus, with her forever family.  We praise God for His Faithfulness! Phil

China Bound...Today!

Bags Packed...Check

My bag includes lots of meds, lots of Cheerios for Lily Rose, lots of hot chocolate for my poor man Mocha's that I love to drink and a care package for a friend's sweet daughter waiting in the Shanghai CWI, and I even had room to pack a few clothes.

Paperwork filled out and ready for travel...check

Oldest two daughters ready for travel....check and double-check. 

They are always ready for an adventure.

Now we are in the Charlotte airport waiting to board our flight to Detroit.  Next we'll have a 15 hour flight to Shanghai.  We land in Shanghai Saturday evening and have a day of sightseeing on Sunday.  Monday is the day we've been waiting for...we meet Lily Rose. 

We'll keep you posted...

Remember to pray for Phil as he plays Mr. Mom to the other 3 girls!!

Summer Fun and Heart Cath

Our Spring and early Summer have been full.  We've been enjoying our farm life.  The girls have spent time playing in the sprinkler and camping out in the tree house while I've tried my hand at gardening and Phil has had fun "playing" with a back hoe he got to borrow for a few days.  He has also been expanding our Full Quiver Farm business.  He is cutting lots on the weekends with his tractor.  It offers a bit of stress relief from his job as principal of a Christian school and provides a bit of extra income which he only half-jokingly says is "paying off the lien on Isabelle." 

 Some of the girls made it a little longer in the tree house than others....

We've also added a few more Bantam chicks to our ever-growing chicken population on the farm.

And we've had to defend our farm against the nefarious black snake trying to rob our hens of their eggs...

Two weeks ago Phil had to go check out a possible middle school retreat location for his school.  We were thrilled to be able to accompany him and spend a few days at the retreat center which is located close to Grandfather Mountain near Boone, NC.

Our family spent the days hiking, tubing in the VERY cold mountain stream, playing carpet pool, trying our hand at archery, and even riding horses.  (Isn't there something a little strange with Torie (20) and Michaela (15)...who have to get up EVERY morning on our farm to feed their own horses, take care of them, ride them and then repeat the whole process EVERY evening...and then when we finally actually leave the farm for something other than a horse show, the first thing they want to do is go find the barn so they can ride.  I'm just sayin????).  In the evenings we played cards in our cabin which had a fabulous view of the mountains.  It was a great getaway, and we're grateful to the    camp that hosted our family.

We got back from the mountains and made the trip to Charleston for Isabelle's heart cath.  It couldn't have gone better.  Everything looked PERFECT for her upcoming open-heart surgery.  What an answer to prayer!  We're hoping to schedule her surgery for September, instead of this summer as we originally intended... because...we received our Article 5 this week which means we should be traveling to China in the next 4 weeks or so to pick up Lily Rose.  It just doesn't get any better than that!!

We are LOA!

We have reached the next step in the alphabet soup of adoption.  We are now LOA (Letter of Acceptance.)  We received our letter from China, officially accepting us as parents of Lily Rose, on May 23rd, and we quickly mailed in our I-800 on the 25th.  If our timeline moves along according to a "normal" pace, we will travel at the end of July/early August to pick up Lily Rose!!

We received an amazing e-mail in our in-box today.  Another family is in Shanghai adopting their son.  He is just a few weeks older than Lily Rose.  The mom was kind enough to take Lily Rose's photo with her to China to see if she recognized her in the orphanage.  Today she e-mailed me several photos of Lily...from just yesterday. 

This is her description of Lily Rose....

Your daughter..."is a little peanut...a bit tentative, but smiling and interacting once we were there for a bit .  She was ticklish and giggled when I tickled her belly.  She is super-cute and oh so precious!!"

I can't tell you how special it is to know that someone saw our daughter yesterday and even got to tickle her belly!  It makes me home sick if that makes any sense...home sick for my daughter.

For those who have never adopted, I can't explain the love the Lord puts into your hearts for your children hundreds of miles away.  I can tell you that the emotions I felt on the delivery table with our first two biological children are the identical emotions I feel when my adoptive children are placed in my arms for the first time.  And the longing I have to hold Lily Rose right now is more intense than the longing I had with my first two pregnancies because Lily Rose isn't safe in my womb but hundreds of miles away where I can't protect her.  But my loving Father is holding her safely in His arms.  And He is giving me bits of encouragement through a woman like Shannon who took time out of her amazing adoption journey to bless me!

We're coming Lily Rose...