Getting closer!

Since my last post, we have jumped some major hurdles in the International Adoption world!  We received our LOA (China saying, "Yep, we give you permission to adopt Feng Lin"), our I-800 (the US saying, "Yep, we give you permission to go get your girl since China says it's ok"), and just last night I completed the FINAL document, the DS-260 (Feng Lin's Visa application to come to the US.)  Typically, that document would have been hand delivered to the US Consulate in Gunagzhou today, but the biggest Chinese holiday of the year just happened to start TODAY!  Puts us three days behind plus another day behind for Columbus Day off in a couple weeks.  All these holidays are keeping us from our girl!  At this point, all hopes of meeting Marin in October are gone.  Now, our hope is that we could be home by Thanksgiving.  With all the holidays holding up our paperwork in China, though, it may be a long shot:(

On the bright side, we are finished with paperwork...all paperwork...every single paper that I have filled out since January!  The paperwork pregnancy is over!  Now we are ready for the delivery!  So. So. Ready!  Nesting is in full swing.  Organizing, straightening, and organizing some more.  Re-reading all of my adoption books and making myself (and Chris) a nervous wreck.  We added Marin's bed and Quinn has been sleeping in it every night, though she assures us she will be moving back to her "tall" bed when Marin comes home because she knows that Marin is scared of heights:)
New room set up...

We have had a lot of contact recently with Marin's teacher.  She has been our guardian angel.  In a recent email she said that Marin is sometimes very stubborn, "cry for a long time over little thing."  She also told us that Marin loves to eat.  Considering the fact that Chris and I have already discussed taking out a loan to feed the three ravenous beasts we already have, I think we can handle that one!  She also continues to share how incredibly clever Marin is "learning new things."  Yet to be determined if that is a god or bad thing:)

The area of concern that we would love prayer over is that her teacher said she is still wearing her back brace all the time because without it she leans to the right.  Our doctor said this should not be the case.  Our concern is that she may need surgery very soon to replace the rods that she had inserted last August.  We won't know for sure until we get home and have her evaluated.  Prayers for Dr. wisdom and her comfort and health please.

Here are a couple recent pictures her teacher sent to us...

As you can see, Marin is thriving.  She is being stimulated.  She is being loved.  What more can we ask for.  Sure eases the angst as we wait.  Next post...Travel Approva!

Introducing...Feng Lin

As we wait for the ever-anticipated LOA (China's seal of approval to adopt), it is about time I introduce our newest addition.  We were first introduced to her as Lindsey, then learned her real name, Feng Lin.  She was born October 6, 2010 in Beijing. She has been in orphanage care in Beijing's Fengtai District since she was two months old.  She has a condition called congenital scoliosis, meaning some of her vertebrae did not form correctly in utero.  She had surgery to place stabilizing rods in her spine at age 2 and 1/2.  She will face numerous surgeries to lengthen the rods as she grows. 
It is a blessing to live in the US where we can have multiple children, where medical care is within reach for even the most complex conditions, where relinquishing a child for adoption is not only legal, but supported in some circumstances.  Feng Lin's birth mother did not have any of these luxuries.  She knew at age two months that something was wrong with her daughter's back and made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her daughter in the hospital where I can only assume she had gone for a diagnosis.  I will think about her and her sacrifice my entire life and I hope that she can sense that her child is being loved and cared for.
When we were first introduced to Lindsey, I searched for information about her orphanage.  There was no glorious website like Quinn's orphanage had set up so I turned to social media.  On a Facebook site for China adoptive families, I asked if anyone had heard of Fengtai SWI.  To my shock, I received a private message from a mother in Sweden who had adopted her daughter from there and had a picture and video of Feng Lin to share!  Not only that, she linked me with a preschool teacher at the orphanage who was Feng Lin's teacher!  Since March, we have had the blessing of receiving multiple photos of Feng Lin as well as in depth information about her personality.  Here are a few recent photos...

The fantastic, amazing, selfless, beautiful woman holding Feng Lin in the last photo is our guardian angel and Feng Lin's teacher, Jennifer.  Waiting, with so many unknowns about your child's care and development is utterly terrifiying!  We received only two updates about Quinn during our 11 month wait to bring her home.  This time around, we have been able to see how our daughter is growing and learning!  We have been told that she is "quite bright," outgoing, talkative, curious, and brave.  Sounds just like her sister!

We also know that she is a girly-girl.  She loves princesses, dress-up, and jewelry.  Don't quite know how she will handle the endless games of mass destruction that the boys and Quinn like to play, but I do know that she and Quinn (my tomboy) will never fight over toys or clothes:)

We debated giving Feng Lin and American name because, at age 4, she certainly knows her name and it is her identity.  However, after hearing from adult adoptees who were grateful for American names so they would "fit in", we decided to give Feng Lin the name Marin. 

 It means "wished-for child."

We hope her name helps her remember all of the people in her life who have wished for her.

 

On the journey...AGAIN!

I cannot believe I am sitting here writing about adopting again.  If you had asked me two years ago if we would have a fourth child, I would have said "no way!"  But, here we are, on our way to being a family of six!
I've said before that I don't like to write and I was honestly tempted not to blog this time around.  However, a few weeks ago, the kids and I sat down and took a stroll down memory lane via the blog and I though "How can I NOT write!"  In fact, I wish that I had written more about Colin and Owen's first days as well.  They grow so fast and parenting perspectives change daily.  It is fun to see how we are all learning and growing together. 
So when did "No Way" become "Absolutely?"  I am not sure exactly and I don't think Chris is either.  It was certainly me who initially brought up the idea.  I think when you talk to adoptive parents it typically is the mom who has the urge first.  That urge first hit me after we moved and began attending a new church. Some things in me that had been stagnant began to awaken.  The sense of peace and overwhelming love from our Father started to soften me.  I started to feel a new passion for God's word and his commands-one of the most direct being to care for orphans.  The initial "crazy" idea in me grew and grew until I could no longer ignore it.  I didn't want any more children, but there were children who certianly needed parents.  I wanted to renovate our new home, not spend every dime we had (and some dimes we DIDN'T have) on bringing another child into our home.  Despite all of my logical and selfish reasons why it was a bad idea, I couldn't shake the urge that had been placed in me.  I finally brought up the idea to Chris.  With all the love he could muster up, he laughed and said "You have got to be kidding me!"  However, being the wonderful man he is, Chris agreed to pray about it to see if God would warm his heart to the idea.  After months of prayer, Chris came to me and said "While my heart hasn't warmed, I know that when we married, we became one flesh.  So if you are called to adopt, then so am I."  Does he rock or what?!
Once we decided we would consider this journey again, we began looking at websites for adoption agencies that our adoptive friends' had used in the past.  Some of the faces of waiting children were listed on the sites.  Looking at so many faces of children waiting for forever families is one of the most heart-wrenching things we have ever done.  We wanted to give every single one of them a family!  We had to pray for guidance so that God's heart, not ours, would lead us to our child.
That same evening, Chris saw a face that melted his heart.  He said "Let's get some more information about her."  One phone call led to another.  We met a specialist about her medical condition.  We prayed, we talked, we hoped.  After a few weeks, we submitted our Letter of Intent (LOI) to adopt this little girl.  On February 1, 2014 we received our Provisional Approval (PA.)  We were on the road to being this little angel's forever family!

3 month pictures

Having some technical difficulties, but here are some pics that I was able to add...

3 months since Gotcha Day!

I cannot believe it has been over a month since my last post.  And at the same time, I cannot think of when I would have had the time to write.  I had forgotten all about life with a toddler. It is exhilirating to watch Quinn learn and grow, but the days do occassionally get long after hearing "mommy" and "up" (as in, please hold me) consistently:) 

Chris and I were just thinking back to that miraculous day three months ago when we finally laid our eyes on our daughter and got to hold her in our arms.  It really and truly seems like that was a lifetime ago!  We are connected as a family to the core.  It is a bond that only God could have created in us and we are in awe of the blessings that He has given our family. 

Quinn has met most of her immediate family members at this point.  She is so outgoing and fun-loving, each visit has been a joy.  She has warmed up to everyone and shown what a hoot she can be.  We even took our first road trip to visit my dad.  She didn't miss a beat.  Traveled the 5 hours well,  slept well, ate well, and played hard with her "Poppy."  We are in the midst of major separation anxiety when I try to take her to the YMCA or church nursery to play, but as long as we're there, being in a new place is no problem.

Since my last post, Quinn has started physical therapy to regain strength and mobility in her right arm.  She is progressing quickly, though she pouts when I tell her it's time to go play with Miss Karen.  "No jump with Miss Karen," she'll say, but when she's there, the first thing she runs for is the trampoline!

Quinn is a very determined little girl.  She thinks that she can and should be able to do whatever her brothers are doing.  When we say the dreaded "n" word, she will melt into a puddle of tears.  We have even occassionally had some primal screams and meltdowns when she doesn't get her way.  While the tantrums aren't fun to deal with, we always say we're grateful that she's that comfortable with us to show how she really feels.

As a reminder to myself, I'm going to list some of Quinn's favorite things to do three months since Gotcha Day...
1. Eat.  She still enjoys almost any food she's presented with, though she has slowed down on the quantity tremendously since Gotcha Day.
2. Sing/Dance.  All of Quinn's favorite toys play music.  She loves to sing along and dance.  She will break out into song in the car, in a store, at the dinner table, in the swing, etc.  Currently, she loves the Kids Bops version of "Telephone" and she'll ask to hear it over and over so she can sing "Stop callin', stop callin'.  I dont want to talk anymore."  And she's got some crazy hip-moving dance moves:)
3. Play with her brothers.  No matter what they're doing, she wants to be in on the action!  Laser tag guns...awesome!  Wrestling...fantastic!  Belly-flopping on the trampoline- a blast!  She even has her own broken Wii remote so she can join them for video games.
4. Bathe.  Yes, I said bathe!  For some reason, she has taken the word bathroom to mean it's time to take a bath.  She'll perk up when she hears the word because she's hoping to hop in!  She pours water on her head, rolls around, blows bubbles in the water.   One of our most consistent tantrum times is when it's time to get OUT of the tub, not IN it anymore!
5. MOVE.  This girl is ACTIVE!  Not hyper by any means.  She knows when it's time to sit still and be quiet and behaves very nicely in church, doctor's offices, etc.  However, when it's free time, she is a live wire!  She loves to be tossed, rolled, swung, etc.  I think this was lacking so she's making up for lost time!  She would much rather walk than ride in the stroller and she does a great job keeping up.
6. Help.  Quinn loves to help.   Help cook, help clean, help grocery shop, help get herself dressed, you name it.  When she puts items in the grocery cart, she is so proud.  She'll say over and over "I helpin, I helpin, I helpin."  ANd she won't stop until I acknowledge, repeatedly, what a great helper she is.
7.  Read.  She loves books....loves,loves, loves them.  She would rather read a few books when she wakes up than eat breakfast.  She reads many of her favorite books to me!

Colin and Owen continue to be the best big brothers a girl could ask for.  They are extremely helpful with her without any prompting from Chris or me.  They love to play with her and make her laugh (which isn't a tough task.)  They are very protective of her in public and see it as their job to keep her safe.  They will get annoyed when she doesn't want to share or she gets in their space, but they handle it with grace and maturity.  Having a little sister has helped them grow in ways I could not have imagined.  I look forward to seeing how they grow together as siblings.  It touches my heart to see them together.

9am and my little girl with the cold is still asleep...so grateful to have had this opportunity to share what's been going on with our newest addition.  Here are some pictures from the past couple months...take care.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Here are some recent pictures that illustrate the fun we've been having!  Quinn continues to be quite the ham.  She is full of joy, humor, and funny faces.  She also has the independent two-year old spirit. "I got it" is one of her favorite sayings when it's time to get dressed, buckle her seat belt, get washed or go down the stairs.  He language skills conitue to grow by leaps and bounds.  She's counting to 5, singing songs (favorites is Tinkle, Tinkle Litto Tah and All Thew Town aka. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Wheels on the Bus), and telling her big brothers what to do.  We've also been surprised at her motor abilities.  She can jump, forward roll, and pedal her tricycle, and, unfortunately, open AND lock all the doors in the house...mama is busy, busy!
Our recent trip to Duke was a waste of time.  After spending over 3 hours in the waiting room, we were given an WebMD description of brachial plexus paralysis and a prescription for physical therapy.  The only positive info we were given was that Quinn seems to be using her arm really well.  (We already knew that!) We'll begin weekly PT this week to be sure she keeps strength and range of motion in the right arm and beyond that nothing else is needed.
We're getting into a routine now,  While I still haven't packed the first lunch for the boys, I AM remembering to help with homework and check teethbrushing at night:)  Colin and Owen are into their routine as well.  Colin confessed to me at bedtime recently that Quinn was a little annoying that day.  "That means you're getting used to her and she's getting used to you," I responded happily.  "Get used to it!"  Chris is working hard and will take his first work trip this week for a couple nights.  Quinn has grown to rely on me for pretty much everything so I'll be sure to give her some extra baba time this weekend:)
We enjoyed a lunch out yesterday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.  Our waitress spoke Cantonese and started chattering away to Quinn.  At first Quinn avoided her completely, but soon she was responding to the waitress.  Thankfully, she hasn't lost her native language yet, but I'm afraid it won't be long before it is gone since we can't speak more than a few words. 
This is all I can write for now as a little girl is craving attention.  Take care.

One month since Gotcha Day

Actually one month and 3 days, but who's counting:)
We're very slowly but surely getting into a routine.  The boys started back to school on Jan 2nd and the first week was incredibly frustrating for me.  I love routine and I love order...we had none!  I forgot about signing hoemwork folders, packing lunches, doing laundry.  Cooking a meal seemed a bit overwhleming while helping two with homework and listening to the third say her favorite word "up, up, up."  I lost my keys, forgot to put refrigerated groceries away, and did not glance at the newspaper all week.  This week I am trying harder to get into a routine since I know it will be my saving grace, but it's still a little slow going. 
Quinn is doing fabulously.  She's eating and sleeping like a champ and even asks to get in the bathtub.  Her language seems to develop more and more by the minute.  Each day she'll have a new phrase she enjoys using.  One day it was "Cheers" before every sip of her drinks.  Another day she walked around saying "I don't know" to every question we asked.  Yesterday Colin taught her "Sup" as in "What's up" with the head bob and all.  She gets really into character with that one!
We had a positive TB test last week despite the negative result in China.  After a fun morning of chest X-rays, we found out that her lungs look good, but we may have to put her on a 9-month regimen of potent antibiotics.  Praying we can avoid it, but we'll know for sure later this week.
Tomorrow Chris and I will take Quinn to Duke for her first specialist appointment.  Duke has a pediatric brachial plexus clinic (of course they do:)  We'll meet with a neurologist and orthopaedist to determine the best approach to help Quinn regain some movement in her right arm and hand.  We'll write again soon with the update on that one. 

For now, in my discombobulated state, I leave you with a few recent pictures...