Waiting...

A dear friend of mine, and also an adoptive mom, sent me this email (below).  It is so true.  I long to kiss my daughter's chubby cheeks, tell her I love her, and sing to her.  It is so hard to explain, but I have had this little girl in my heart for such a long time, even since I was a little girl.  I am not sure if God is granting me the desires of my heart, or if He put the desire in my heart.  It doesn't really matter, but it's nice to know that God has been preparing us for this moment.  Esther 4:14 comes to mind - "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”  Somehow, I knew Lilly would be my daughter.  I am really trying to be the best wife, mother, teacher, and friend that I can be in this waiting period.  Some days the waiting is very hard.  I catch myself staring at her picture wondering what she's doing and how she's doing.  I'm excited and anxious.  I am just trying to trust God's timing.  He's shown us many times that His plan is perfect.  Liam's arrival to our family is testament to that!  Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  So, if I seem absent minded, please know that I'm probably just daydreaming about my little girl, and anticipating the time when my whole family will be together.

Now begins the hard part. Everyone thinks the paperwork and waiting for the referral is hard, but now is torture. Every night you will see your daughter's beautiful face and beg God to let you put her to sleep at night. You will wake up at night, wondering if your little girl is crying and why can't you be there to comfort her. I will pray for you, for patience and a trust in God's timing. I will pray for Lilly, that God will guard and protect her and that He would make her heart ready for a family.

Now, also, begins the fun part. You have a face when you imagine her in clothes you pick out, in the bedroom you decorate, and in the family photos on the wall. You stare at her picture while reading a book or playing with Liam. Your heart rejoices at the new member of your family.

Chinese New Year

This year we decided to start a family tradition of celebrating the Chinese New Year.  Liam and I started by making some decorations and art projects.

One Chinese tradition is to release lanterns into the sky.  Red is the customary color used for this holiday.  Our lanterns appeared to be floating in the sky all weekend.

Liam colored his dragon puppet.

Typically, a large dragon is woven through the streets in China.  Our dragon made a trip around the house.

In lue of lighting fireworks, we made our own fireworks on paper with glitter and glue.

Liam's fireworks

We had Chinese food on Saturday evening, but saved Liam's surprise for Sunday afternoon.  In China, it is traditional to give children a red envelope filled with money.  Liam's envelope had the wish - May you find happiness forever.  Instead of giving Liam real money, we gave him chocolate money, which he liked even better.

Although we had fun celebrating and teaching Liam a little about where his sister is coming from, we really wish we had Lilly with us now.  Several times this weekend Liam talked to Lilly's picture and asked to go to China.  Next year, we will be together as a family celebrating!

Lilly Update

We got an update on Lilly today, which we had been anticipating since accepting her referral.  On Tuesday she turned 17 months old.  She is now 28.9 inches tall and weighs 22 pounds.  She babbles, but doesn't say any real words yet.  She is standing and walking with help.  She has not had surgery for her cleft palate.  Our doctor requested that we wait until she arrives home before doing the surgery and they are honoring our wishes.  She is eating well, which is evident by her chubby cheeks.  They have let her hair grow a bit.  It is black and thick.  At the end of the update they said, "She is an easy-going, gentle and quiet little girl.  She smiles often."  As I write this, Liam is singing and playing very loudly.  I can't imagine what a quiet child is like!  We learned that she is not in Kunming City, but rather Kunshan City.  Somehow when translating the referral paperwork, they put the wrong city.  We have done research on Kunming, so now we will have to research Kunshan.  We hope to do a post about the area Lilly is from.
Looking Ahead...
We are preparing for the Chinese New Year, which is this Sunday (February 10th).  We will post pictures about our celebration.  
We are also working on our next round of paperwork (I-800) so it is ready to mail in as soon as we get the LOA (letter of acceptance).

Closet Remodel

We have been busy making room for another baby!  Until now, our third bedroom has been used as an office and guest room.  We have been working on turning the third bedroom into Lilly's room.  We have also been turning our utility closet into an office.  I got the idea from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine a year ago.  When I brought the idea up to Dave, he thought I was a little crazy.  After some convincing, he agreed to undertake the project.  We are so pleased with how it turned out.  Our brother-in-law Brady was a huge help.
Step 1 - tear down 

Step 2 - dry wall

Step 3 - electrical work (outlets, cable jack, and new light) & primed

Step 4 - painted & new floor

Step 5 - cabinets installed

Letters to Lilly

As I scrapbook milestones in Lilly's adoption, I have been writing her letters. I did the same thing for Liam while we waited for him.  Each month when I scrapbook Liam's pictures from the month, I also include a letter of what he learned or did that month.  I want our children to know that even though I didn't carry them in my womb for 9 months, I did carry them in my heart while preparing for their arrival, that I love them, and that every day they bring me joy.  So, in Lilly's most recent letter I included this verse.  Someday, when she looks back at her adoption story I want her to realize that God created her for a purpose, protected her, and directed her path so that it would lead to us.  I also want her know that in addition to our immense love for her, her Father in heaven loves her the most.  He made her according to His plan and she is beautiful.  We are so thankful that God knit our daughter together, knowing she would be ours.  We are so thankful for His hand of protection for her when she was abandoned.  We know her life has purpose and she will do great things for God's glory.

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:13-16

It's a Girl!

We would like to announce that our daughter, Lillian Rae (Gu Jiayue), was born on September 5th, 2011.  She is beautiful!  The moment we saw her picture, we knew that she was our daughter and loved her instantly.  She is our little Asian Lilly.  Unfortunately, we are not able to post her pictures online.  We can tell you a little bit about her...

On Sep 25 2011, police received a report that an abandoned baby covered by a white quilt was found on the floor of a wooden shed at the east end of the Changhong Bridge in Yushan Town of Kunshan City, China. The policemen came to the spot and failed to find her parent and relatives. At 10:35 on Sep 25th, 2011 she was sent to the welfare institute of Kunshan city.  The doctor identified that she had a cleft palate III degrees.  She was 6.6 pounds.  He estimated her date of birth as September 5th, 2011.

She is described as shy and quiet, but smiles easily.  She is a great sleeper, not a picky eater, and cries only when wet or hungry.  She has reached all her developmental large motor skills.  Some of her fine motor skills are not as developed.  She has weak muscle strength, which we have been assured is common.  She loves dolls and playing games, specifically games that involve imitation.

Lilly weighed 16.5 pounds according to her most recent paperwork (done at 13 months of age) and was 28 inches tall.  She has dark black hair.  It looks thick, but is also very short right now (common for children in an institution).  She has beautiful brown eyes with a slight slant.  She has a round face and chunky arms and legs.  She has the classic China doll complexion.  

Here's how we learned about our little lady...

The Referral

One week prior to referral night, we got e-mails from our two social workers stating that the children available for adoption would be listed to the CCCWA website on January 21st and we would hear either way whether they were able to 'lock' (claim) a child for us.  They went over our packet of information again.  We were hopeful, but also a bit guarded, since we didn't get a referral in December.

On January 21st, at about 9pm, we got a text from our social worker saying she was able to lock a child for us, but it would take time to download all her files and send them to us.  She said the little girl had a cleft lip and palate.  So, we waited... again.  We tried watching a movie, but our minds swirled.  We toasted with red wine and prepared ourselves for what we might see.  We felt peace that whatever she looked like, or whatever medical concerns she had, she was our daughter, and we already loved her.  Finally, a little after 11pm, we got an e-mail containing her medical information and two pictures.  We clicked on her pictures first.  We both just stared at the screen - she was beautiful!  We thought maybe we got the wrong picture, because she didn't have a cleft lip.  After reading her medical chart, we found out that she has a cleft palate, but not a cleft lip.  Honestly, she looks just like we dreamed she would.

The next day we sent the referral to our doctor for review.  We also took time to research the area that she is from in China (That information will come in a later post).  We got in contact with our social worker to clear up some things that didn't make sense to us in her file.  After the doctor called us back on January 23rd, we e-mailed our social worker and said we accepted our referral.

Now, we are getting ready for the LONG wait.  We need to wait for our LOA (letter of approval) from China.  Once we have that we will have a better idea when we will travel.  Our social worker said to plan on six months from now, but it could be sooner or later.  July seems like an eternity away - we just want to snuggle our little girl now!

Liam likes to look at her picture and says, "Aw, she's cute."  He knows where Lilly's room is in the house, knows his sister is in China, but calls her picture "Yona" (the name he calls his cousin Verona).  So, we're working on that.  He does pray for her every night by saying, "God b-yess Yi-yee."  We know Liam has an adjustment ahead of him, after being an only child this long.  However, we think they will be great friends.  They are 17 months apart, so we're in for some fun!

Please pray that the adoption process continues to go smoothly and that God would wrap our little Lilly in His arms until we can.

Life with Liam

Everyday we are so thankful to have Liam as our son!  He is so bright and creative.  He is a bundle of energy.  With his active imagination comes many messes, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  We love going with Liam on all his adventures.  Here are just some of Liam's most recent activities.  Welcome to life with Liam.

Mr. Independent likes to do things himself.  He is so proud of his accomplishments.

Liam is a lot like his mom - they both like things a certain way.

He is ALL BOY!  He loves to be outside.

Liam is very artistic.  

Liam can turn ordinary things into an adventure.

Liam loves to read.

Who needs toys when you can sort diapers?

Grandpa Herman made Liam a desk.  Our little artist creates many masterpieces daily.

Liam is a problem solver.  He found a way to make a garage for each of his cars.  And yes, that's his pirate bandana.

Liam gets so excited to try new things.  Here's his first snowman.

Liam has a story and explanation for everything (he talks all day long).

Another amazing adventure.  Where's Liam?

Liam loves to snuggle with Mommy.  He gives many hugs and kisses.

Everyday is a great day with Liam.