The Rasmussen Family Blog.

2011-08-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

I was looking through pictures to add a current one to our blog and found these instead. Aundrea and Bailey are about 23 months apart. They've been best friends since the day Bai was born. The bottom picture was taken at Lions Park in Kearney.

Each Sunday, we would drive from Parkville to Kearney to check on the progress of our new house. (That was 2 houses ago.) Back then, speed limits were lower and 152 highway did not exist. People gave directions in Kearney bases on "the" stoplight and the "flashing red light." These were 2 local landmarks that even newbies to town could readily find. The town literally shut down at 9:00 p.m. each night.

Needless to say, nothing stays the same. Our adopted home town has more stoplights than I've tried to count lately. Even late at night there is traffic on the streets.

My sweet Aundrea leaves for college in less than 2 weeks. We are excited for her and it is a bit bittersweet too. My mom told me that cute baby wouldn't stay small long and how right she was. It was so hard to imagine at the time when nights were short and days a bit long. Aundrea is an intelligent, sweet, gentle girl who will go far in with whatever God calls her to do. She is ready for college; it's us, her parents that wish we could wait a few more years.

Bailey is now the tall one. She has been taller than me for 4 or 5 years. She is about 5'10." She wanted to go on the church mission trip this year. She has been working full time since April at McDonald's. She leaves with the church on Sunday for New York City. She is very excited. She decided to leave McD's though. She was hired part time, wanted part time and in spite of her requests for part time has always worked full time. She wanted to enjoy her last 2 years of high school. She is looking for a part time position somewhere else.

Her work ethic has been admirable. Many times she got herself up and got herself to work on time by 5:00 a.m. while the rest of us happily slept. I promised I wouldn't mention it on facebook, but will mention it now. She only fell out of the drive through window once! That's my Boo. (Don't worry no injuries. And yes, it IS funny. P.S., blame the co-worker.)

In April Bailey had a very serious car accident but came away from it with nothing more than scratches, bumps and bruises. Still it was the kind of thing that reminds us of God's protection and the frailty of life. It has also improved our prayer life as we still allow the child to drive. Thankfully, it has been without further incident.

Mandy is doing well too. She attended Kearney Middle School last year. That went well and she enjoyed it. Still, we are a homeschooling family and have decided that she will return to homeschooling this year. She is looking forward to starting baton again in the fall.

Mandy seems to be in that awkward phase where she is no longer a kid but not quite the teenager she wants to be. As the 3rd daughter, it seems she has spent her entire childhood not quite old enough. She is an awesome kid though. She has been blessed with a determination that will take her far. When she decides to do something she really gets it done. She always impresses me by being the first to help. She is learning to put up with her more laissez-faire family.

Gracie is doing very well also. Her English has improved to the point that casual acquaintances don't realize she didn't know English 2 years ago. Unless they know her story, most people now assume she was adopted as a baby and grow up here in America. She loves swimming and television. She is excited about turning 11 and we are going to have real party with a bunch of her friends. For her last 2 birthdays we just had family parties. She is definitely the Princess in the family. Disney Princesses still excite her. She loves anything pink, romantic or girly. She was totally amazed when the Dr. at Shriner's called her Princess, wondering how he knew her nick name. Totally decked out in pink, in her pink wheelchair and wearing a princess shirt I wonder how he knew.

We've added another. Our niece Amey is 17 1/2. We have always known of her, but didn't know how to reach her until last winter. One thing led to another and she is now living with us. We are glad she is here. She is a sweet girl with a bright future. We are really enjoying getting to know her better.

Keith and I are up to the same old things. Keith is still at DST. I'm still with Crossroads Hospice. Throw in the 5 girls and it takes 7 months to update the blog. =)

Merry Christmas

2011-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

We finished up our Christmas January 1, 2010. It was unusually late this year with my side of the family. Mom and Steve had the flu the week of Christmas so we postponed our usual Christmas Eve celebration.

John and Kendra have a beautiful new home so we celebrated at their house this year. I was glad we were all together. Grandma Fern and Dad both had health issues this year.

Like always, the kids were blessed with too much stuff. Besides the usual Royse celebration we were at the Rasmussens on Christmas day. Since our usual Christmas eve was cancelled we decided to have our immediate family celebration that day. We opened gifts and then went to Mama's Chinese Buffet for lunch. I had to work evening shift but other than that it was a relaxing day.

You can see in the picture that Ashlyn and Gracie were ready to open gifts. We have always encouraged our kids to buy and give their own gifts. Gracie would get so excited everytime someone was about to open HER gift. There are a lot of good cooks in the family, I'm not one of them LOL, but the kids are great cooks. Gracie is also developing this talent and was pleased to make her favorite dessert--strawberry muffins.

One year ago today

2010-08-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, I stood at an open window. I watched a beautiful little Chinese girl with flowers in her hair come wheeling across the courtyard as fast as she could. She had a million dollar smile and was yelling Mama! Baba! That was my first real live glimpse of my youngest daughter.

What an amazing year it has been. God has blessed us with an incredible daughter. She is an easy going child who accepted us as her forever parents from the beginning. She loves anything princess, t.v., books, t.v., drawing, t.v., writing, t.v. and Jesus. Did I mention T.V.? In short she has spent the year being a kid. She tells she wasn't allowed toys at the foster home she had when she was younger. Her last foster home had strict rules about t.v. This forever mom should probably have stricter rules about the amount of t.v., although we do carefully monitor what is watched, we probably have allowed a bit more than necessary. Anyway, it seems she has spent the last year doing all the fun things kids usually do in their first 9 years. It has been a lot of fun watching her blossom.

It has also been awesome to watch her learn about Jesus. She had no understanding of the true God before coming home. Some of her questions have been cute, some I have tried not to laugh at, but all have been sincere. I am thankful for living in a country where we can discuss our beliefs openly, and for the people at First Baptist for being so patient with her. Not just the adults and teachers, but the children too have all been kind to her. She has been the only girl in her Sunday school class for much of the year. This has earned her a group of little American brothers who go out of their way to watch out for her.

Gracie has adjusted pretty easily to life in our family. For the most part, she has been an easy going kid. In the past year we have learned that is not true for all of our daughters. One has had her share of challenges adjusting to a family of 6. At the one year mark everyone is accepting each other as sisters. That was probably our biggest "surprise." For all our reading and classes on helping Gracie adjust, she wasn't the one that needed the extra TLC in that way. We are moving in a good direction as a family though.

We are gearing up for another year of homeschooling. This starts next week. Gracie enjoys school and I anticipate she will be reading soon. Aundrea will be a Senior, Bailey a Sophomore and Mandie in the 6th grade. We gave the girls a choice to continue homeschooling or to go to our local public school. Mandie is excited to be starting at the middle school but all the others will continue at home.

Homeschooling.

2010-07-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

I wrote an email discussing Gracie's educational progress. I decided to go ahead and post parts of it as it is a pretty good overview of Gracie's educational progress this past year.

Gracie's english has progressed very well. Her accent is still there of course and her grammar isn't always accurate, but after 10 months at home she definitely understands what you are saying and can voice her own opinions. She has a Barbie video full of puns and she laughs at them which makes me think she gets the joke. It is a new thing that she laughs at jokes like that.

She still feels uncomfortable in group situations with lots of talking. She can follow along and do what she should but has to work harder at it.

She did not really have any English in China. She had been taught to parraot a few simple phrases but nothing helpful and she didn't really know what they mean.

She had some schooling in China at the orphanage. It was probably equivilant to pre-k here. What she had learned in China seemed to be by rote memorization. We had a tutor come twice a week who spoke Chinese. Gracie told Gina she could count from 1 to 100. Gina asked her to count from 40 to 50 and Gracie said she could only do that if she started at 1.

She understood the symbols for less than and greater than and was very proud of that (still is). Yet she could only add up to 5+5. Again, she didn't really understand it. She couldn't add 6+1 because she hadn't been taught that yet.

Anyway, she progressed very well homeschooling this year. We did lots of reading which she loves. Educationally speaking we didn't really get serious until after Christmas. She finished a complete Kindergarten curriculum in phonics and is mostly finished in K math. Better yet, she actually understands it and can apply the concepts to situations in which she wasn't specifically taught. She isn't quite reading yet but has started decoding simple 3 leter words.

Family Fun

2010-01-25T21:15:00.001-08:00

Bailey, Gracie and Aundrea goof around for the camera.

Gracie and Mandy have fun in the snow.

Ever notice how it is the simplest little things that can lead to some of the best times.

After dinner Mandy decided to blow air into an empty shredded cheese bag and pop it with her fist. This led to a half hour of family fun as we each took our turn trying to make the loudest pop. Never mind the bits of cheddar cheese crumbs that made it to the floor, that's why we have all these crazy pets.

Once we had the kitchen cleaned and the rest of the house picked up, the girls and I decided to play ball in the living room. We don't play ordinary catch, but rather our own version that has an element of dodge ball thrown in for fun. This led to another long bout of laughter.

Our family's journey to become a family of 6 has not always progressed as Keith and I would have liked. It turned out that Gracie was not the only one needing time to adjust. We naively thought the kids would instantly accept and like each other, but our girls have not always shared the intense love for each other that Keith and I feel for each of them. I'm sure there have been many days when each has wished she was an only child. Little by little the good days are out weighing the bad days. Some days, you just need to pop the cheddar cheese bag.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T17:20:00.005-08:00

Christmas 2008 was bittersweet. 9+ months into our adoption of Shen Tian Yu, we were disappointed that Gracie was not home yet. There was nothing we could do but wait. The Holidays were spent with various comments along the lines of "next year, Gracie will be here." A few gifts were bought for her and set aside until she coud come home.

This year, all my girlies are with me. Gracie has been thoroughly enjoying her first Christmas in America. We've explained to her that it is "Jesus's birthday." She doesn't fully understand God and Jesus, but she understands that He is special. She tells me "Iya like Jesus." Whenever we see a nativity set or artwork depicting baby Jesus she is excited. "Look Mama, Look! Baby Jesus!" She was very excited to buy a small nativity set for her bedroom. It won't be put up with the rest of the Christmas decorations.

Today was Christmas for my side of the family. I watched Gracie smile as her cousins opened their Christmas gifts. She squealed with delight to receive another Barbie doll. (She now has 18.) She had carefully chosen her own gifts to give to her new family and eagerly watched as they opened them. It is hard to describe my feelings, but I was so proud and happy to have my sweet daughter home delighting in her first Christmas.

For my friends waiting with children somewhere in the world, I feel for you. I know your Christmas will feel a bit incomplete this year.

Say a prayer for the millions of orphans waiting for a family of their own.

Adjusting to life in America

2009-10-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

Gracie continues to adjust to life in America. It is amazing how well she is adjusting.

Gracie spoke to her best friend on the phone earlier in the week. Her friend came home to Texas about a month after she did. The girls were all giggles on the phone. Most of the conversation was in Mandarin. A few English phrases were thrown in for good measure. On Thursday Gracie told Gina that when she first spoke with her friend she almost forgot how to speak in Mandarin. We always knew Gracie would lose her ability to speak Mandarin as she learned English. It surprised me though that she can already sense it happening.

We try to minimize Halloween. This year we went to our church's trunk or treat. After that the big girls went Trick or Treating. I took Gracie over to see my Grandmother. Gracie loves her "Nigh nigh." I also took her trick or treating down Grandma's street. Gracie doesn't really get Halloween but has decided that if you can dress up as a princess and get candy it must be fun.

Mandy and her friend are dressed as "twin pops" if you are wondering. I'm afraid these simple costumes tested my sewing abilities.

October

2009-10-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

I returned to work a couple of weeks after coming home. Throw in the start of the school year and I haven't had much time on the computer.

Gracie continues to amaze us. She is adjusting very well to her new life. Her ability to learn English astounds me. It seems every day she knows new words. Ever the prankster, she will knock on Aundrea's bedroom door and shout "It is Mandy, let me in." Her thick accent gives her away. Ha.

Gracie is a real animal lover. She loves to wrap up our 3-legged Chihuahua Izzy and play "Doga baby." The cats are her favorite, especially "Silly Garfield" and "Poor Oreo." Oreo earned her nickname after an unfortunate 21 hours in the deep freezer. It cost her the tip of one ear and half of her tail but amazingly has no other side effects.

Our school year is going well. Miss Gina the mandarin speaking ESL teacher comes twice a week. We started schooling 2 weeks after Gracie came home so I've been taking it slow and easy with her. I'm gradually increasing the amount of schoolwork she does each day.

I started her with a Kindergarten phonics workbook and a Kindergarten math review workbook. I also throw in educational games, reading books and activities Gina gives us to do. She can already identify all of her letters, upper case and lower case. We've started blending sounds into words. We still have lots of vocabulary work to do. The other day she read "The fat cat sat." She then turned to me and asked "Why fat cat sad?" Mandy gladly demonstrated sat for her.

Mandy is busy with gymnastics and baton. I'm only allowed to watch her practice at home. Watching her in class is a huge No No with her. From what I can see she is pretty good and has a lot of fun with it. Lucky for me she practices a lot at home. She is still adjusting to her new sister. Mandy was the baby of the family a long time and it is sometimes hard for her to see another get attention.

Aundrea and Bailey are the typical teenagers. Their lives revolve around their friends. Aundrea also has a part time job at McDonalds.

One month

2009-09-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to believe, but it has been 1 month since we met Grace Tianyu. It feels like she has been with us so much longer. I find myself checking the calander to see how long she has been home. Without checking, I tend to think it has been much longer than it has been.

We've been having a lot of fun. Even though Gracie is already 9, so many experiences are new to her. She was excited to ride in one of those truck carts at the grocery store. My first thought was, but she is 9. Then I thought, why not? She's never had the chance before. Besides she was either going to ride in a store cart or the wheelchair so there really wasn't a reason to tell her no. When shopping she prefers riding in the cart and at this point I have to agree that it is easier.

The first 10 days home.

2009-09-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that we are starting on our second week home. Gracie is doing well. She loves her sisters. She is starting to understand that I want to spend time with her, not just take care of her. Yesterday we sat together for 2 hours while she went through every activity for every letter of the alpahbet on Starfall. She invited me to sit with her, let me put my arm around her and leaned into me. I wasn't about to get up. It was worth it, at bedtime I got an I love you and she blew me a kiss. On the other hand, earlier in the day I had told her I love you and her response was "no bedtime." LOL.

Gracie turned 9 on Friday. We went out to eat for Chinese food. I was a little sorry though as the Chinese waitress asked nosy questions. Gracie handled it really well. In China when people would ask her these types of questions she would shut down. She didn't seem bothered at all by them Friday. Unfortuantely, these conversations take place in Mandarin and so Keith and I don't get a chance to intervene until it is too late.

We decided to have a small family birthday party. Both of our families are large though and so small parties are still pretty good sized. She had met most everyone before. We had grandparents, and the aunts and uncles that live in the immediate area. Over all about 17 people plus the 6 of us. Gracie really enjoyed herself. She smiled and laughed and interacted with family. She played in the backyard with the other kids for probably 2 hours. She really hit it off with all her cousins but really took to 13 year old Zacc.

The ESL teacher came yesterday. It was our 2nd meeting, but first official lesson. Gracie did really well, wanting to keep going even when Miss Gina suggested they take a break. One advantage to Miss Gina, is that twice a week I have a translator to help communicate more in depth issues with Gracie and to give Gracie a chance to talk. Gracie is a real talker but of course doesn't have much to say in English yet. I look forward to hearing her stories when she learns enough English to start sharing.

Gracie's adoption trip (154 photos), by Cinda Rasmussen

2009-08-26T06:43:00.001-07:00

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you.

Home for 3 days.

2009-08-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

We've been home for 3 days now. I guess it was because we were tired and anxious to be home, but travel home seemed almost untolerable. When we finally landed in Omaha I was so relieved. I'm sure part of it was no more airplanes. The other thing is that Omaha is close enough to home to feel like home.

Anyway, we had quite a welcoming party. Mom, Steve and our girls, Kendra and Ashlyn and Aunt Debbie were all there when we got off the plane. That is a big deal since we landed around 7:20 a.m. and it is a 3 hour trip to the Omaha airport. Ashlyn and Gracie really hit it off. Aunt Debbie said she wouldn't miss it as it made her nostalgic for when her boys came home from Korea 23 and 21 years ago.

Sunday and Monday were pretty quiet days spent at home, recovering from jet lag and getting to know each other. Mandy goes back and forth and how she feels about all of this. Out of the 3 older girls her life is probably the most affected as she and Grace are only 22 months apart and are sharing a room.

Tuesday was a great day. Keith goes back to work tomorrow. We decided to spend Tuesday as a "Family Day." Put all the chores on hold and go hang out as a family. It was a pretty typical family day for us. First stop was Burr Oaks and a trail walk and the nature center. We put a foam pad in Keith's utility wagon and pulled Gracie along in that. For a city girl she seemed to enjoy it. At the nature center Mandy is always intrigued by the snakes. I prefer the bird feeders and turtles myself. Gracie surprised me by also being intrigued by the snakes. Hmm these 2 girls definitely have some things in common.

Next was lunch at KFC where Gracie had Chicken wings, her favorite. She ate them every morning at the White Swan for breakfast.

Since we sold the camper to go to China we have decided that we would like to replace it with a pontoon boat, so off to Bass Pro Shop. There we had a lot of fun dreaming about a boat and looking at the displays. Gracie liked to be the Captain. As much as she likes swimming, I think she will like tubing and a boat as much as the rest of us. Of course this was all in fun. At the moment an afternoon rental at Smithville Lake would be a bit of a stretch.

Mandy really wanted to go to the pet store at the mall. It was still early so we decided why not. The store employee had a bird sitting on his hand. Again Gracie surprised me by letting the bird sit on her hand. She thought this was pretty funny.

The mall has these harnesses with bungee cords that they raise into the air. You then jump on a trampoline. Mandy has always wanted to do this, so we let her. The other 3 girls rode the carousel.

Over all, it was a great day and I really felt like we were clicking as a family. Some of the jealousy Mandy has had about attention towards Gracie I saw in a different light. It turns out that she wants to be the one to push Gracie's chair and to give Gracie more attention. I thought she was jealous of the attention Gracie was getting, not that she couldn't give more. I'm sure that it will continue to be a back and forth thing with Mandy and Gracie. Mandy has never been one to take changes easily.

August 20, 2009 Our last full day in China

2009-08-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the end of our last full day in China. We had originally planned to swim in the morning and go shopping with Ann in the afternoon. Gracie refused to go swimming. We think she is afraid she will get sick again. She had a really nasty cold a week ago and none of us want to repeat it.

So, this morning we just hung around the hotel. Gracie loves the Swan room. Most of the families we have gotten to know have left already so the swan room was pretty quiet. The newest batch of families seem to have really young babies. Many of them I am sure aren't over a year old. So cute. Several have thick black hair that stands straight up.

Off to Starbucks for lunch. Today was the day it hit me, that I just wanted to go home.

David came by our room. He came to say goodbye. He won't be our guide tomorrow as he has somewhere else he needs to be. He is really good with Gracie and she seems to have won him over. Anyway, he talked to her about traveling to America on the plane and wearing a seatbelt in the car in America. He also told her that in America t.v. is in English. This made her laugh.

Later, we met with Ann from Red Thread China. She is just as sweet in person as she was in emails. She knows how to shop and we bought twice as much stuff for about half of what we had planned to spend. Gracie was her charming self with Ann. She told Ann that she wanted to buy Chinese gold, silver and diamonds since you can't buy that in the U.S. We don't know where she got that idea but she kept insisting we buy these things. Ann told her that first she needs to go to America and learn English, then go to college, then get a good job and buy her own gold, silver and diamonds. Ha maybe she will buy Mama some too.

Gracie also wanted to know why she can't speak English and Chinese like Ann, David and Helen. Ann told her we had a teacher to help her learn. Gracie said she would never be able to come back to China. We told her she could come back for a visit when she is older. She said she didn't know where her old house was and wanted to know if she could stay with Ann when she comes back for a visit. She also talked about all of her friends she will never see again. Poor kid. She is really trying to process all of this and it is a lot for her to take in.

Anyway after shopping with Ann it was back to the island. We ended up at a German restaurant for dinner. Someone had said it was good. We decided that a German restaurant in China is not good. Gracie wore an adorable Chinese dress we had bought with Ann. She is really proud of it and looks really cute. She wants to wear it home, so unless we have reason to change it that is what she will have on when we got off the plane.

After that, I went shopping to buy a few things I had seen on the island. After shopping with Ann the prices did seem high when previously I hadn't really thought so. I was also a bit more hesitant to buy since I was nearing the end of my money and was tired. Sure enough the shop keepers started going down in price and adding more things in. I wanted to buy t-shirts at one store but was hesitant on whether I wanted one for myself. I ended up with 5 t-shirts and a beautiful, large piece of embroidery for the costs of the t-shirts. I would have been thrilled with just the embroidery. Embroidery here is an unbelievable art form.

I also bought finger painting. It too must be seen to be believed. This has been elevated to an artwork like no other.

Back at the hotel room I was helping Gracie get ready for a bath. I tore the sides of her pull up to get it off. She became very upset, just sobbing.
We really couldn't figure out why. It was a clean, unsoiled pull up and could have been used after her bath, but still her reaction was extreme. Only one other time have we seen her cry like this and it was also after a pull up had been removed before she thought it was time. We finally figured out that she is afraid of running out of pull ups. I don't know what happened in the past when they ran out of pull ups, but this is obviously a precious item to Gracie. We got on a website that translates to Mandarin and finally convinced her that we would not let her run out of pull ups, we would get more. She is doing so well sometimes it is easy to forget all she is going through. Both the conversation with Ann and the pull ups incident make me sad for her. I am as anxious for her to learn English as she is.

This evening we packed the luggage. Gracie helped and is a good little packer. Once she forgave me for wasting a pull up she was her cheerful little self. We made a big deal out of showing her that we were packing all of her stuff and every last pull up. We have decided to leave behind a few small easily replaced items since shopping was so successful. Keith and I both agreed that even though the pull ups are a bit bulky and definitely easy to replace that every last one would make it home with us.

Tomorrow is a big day for Gracie as she leaves China and officially starts her new life.

August 17-19, 2009

2009-08-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here is what we've been up to these last 3 days. Most of Monday was fairly quiet. The day started with going to the clinic to get her TB skin test read. Totally negative, for which we are very glad. After that it was still fairly early and we walked around the island. The island is full of gardens. Every day we see many professional photographers here. Most are wedding pictures. Interestingly enough, we have only seen 1 Bride in the traditional red wedding gown. All the others except 1 have been in Western style white dresses. The odd one was in a weird hot pink and white feather dress. I didn't like it at all. In the morning groups of people meet in the park. They do Tae Chi, traditional dance, ballroom dancing etc. It is quite interesting. Add to this groups of people playing cards or a domino type game and the parks are very busy. Kind of makes the US parks look isolated and lonely. After our walk, we went to the Swan Room. Gracie loves to spend time in the Swan Room. It has been a great place to meet the other families. Monday evening we went on a river cruise on the Pearl River. The food was awful but the sights were fantastic. Guangzhou is very pretty at night. Gracie was a bit of a handful, wanting her own way with everything. I think she was tired and worn out. She is used to a very structured and quiet lifestyle. Between that and the heat she can't tolerate more than a few hours of activity a day. I think to her our days are very busy even though they seem kind of quiet and dull to me. Tuesday Small World planned on a trip to the city zoo. I wanted to go to the Safari park but David had already planned the zoo. It was an okay zoo. The best part about it was that it was Gracie's first trip to the zoo ever. She seemed to really enjoy it. They also had a goldfish area that was quite interesting. I didn't know what to think about that before we went in but it was the best part of the zoo in my opinion. The had large tanks with different types of goldfish in them. Many I had never seen before. Gracie was in charge of the camera and got close ups of most of them. Off to the side, they had a series of small pools with small goldfish in them. People were letting their kids strip to their underwear and play in the pools, try to cacth the fish etc. No one in our group participated in these activities. After that it was back to the hotel. The zoo had been very hot. The weather in Guangzhou is similiar to S. Florida. In China, AC means only slightly less hot. Anyway Keith and Grace went back to our room. I walked the block or so to Starbucks to get something cold to drink and to get paninis for lunch. When I came back Grace was asleep. She slept for 4 hours. We debated waking her up, but she gets very irritable when you wake her up and we knew that she is used to a 2 to 3 hour nap anyway, so we let her sleep. That turned out to be a good call. She was her cheerful, co operative self when she woke up. After that we decided to be brave and venture out to a Chinese restuarant for dinner. Before this we had only gone to western style restaurants. The Deli, Starbucks, Lucy's and Subway. Anyway the first restaurant was only half a block from the hotel. We couldn't even communicate well enough to get water, so we left. After that we weren't sure were to go. Keith suggested the German restaurant or the Italian restaurant. I REALLY wanted Chinese so we kept walking. We finally found a little mom and pop Chinese restaurant a couple of blocks away. They had an english/picture menu. We managed water and dinner. We ordered a beef dish and a chicken dish. The beef was good. We now know what they do with all the chicken bones and leftover chicken parts. They serve them in China. We ate the mushrooms. The staff was nice, but must have found us interesting as we had 3 waitresses watch us eat. Oh well, at least they are friendly here on the island. Wednesday -- We didn't have to be somewhere by 9 for a change. We let Gracie sleep as late as she wanted. Interestingly, she was up by 8 and we were still down to breakfast by 8:30. The mornings we woke her up it was taking 1.5 to 2 hours to make it down to breakfast. Hmmm. Anyway, we had planned to go swimming after breakfast, but the swim store doesn't open until 2:00 and Gracie needs a swim ring. So we walked around the hotel a bit, spent a little time in the Swan room and then went back to the hotel room. We all went to Starbucks for lunch. After that, Keith and Gracie went back to the room and I did some shopping. It is kind of funny to shop here because you always have help. The shop keepers follow you around and tell you what you are looking at. "That is an outfit for baby, these are squeaky shoes, that is a purse etc." They also give you little things when you walk in the door. "It is hot out, choose a fan for free." You bought this stuff, here have a bracelet for free. etc. I'm really bad at negotiating and should probably try harder, but to tell you the truth I find the prices reasonable and don't feel that I'm over paying. I tend to buy small things that are easy to pack. Maybe if I bought something expensive I would do better negotiating. Anyway, I haven't really bought much. We are going shopping with Ann from Red Thread tomorrow and she specializes in good deals so I plan to do some serious souvenier shopping then. We had to leave for the consulate at 2:45. At 2:30 we made Gracie turn off the tv and get ready to go. She was NOT happy, got mad and cried. I felt pretty bad about it but we had to go. Besides, this is normal for a kid in her situation and the best thing we can do for her is not let her win these little battles. By the time we got to the U.S. consulate she was her usual happy self. She charms all she meets. There were a lot of families there. Maybe 30 or 40. They announced that Gracie has a birthday this month and everyone clapped. I don't think she knew why they were clapping for her. Anyway, as a group we had to raise our right and and repeat a pledge stating that all of the information we had given the government was true. After this they gave us a packet of papers in a brown envelope NOT to be opened by us. This little ceremony and going through customs will make Gracie a US citizen. Somehow all of the "official" moments have been anti-climatic. I don't know what I expected, but they all seem so un-remarkable. Back in the room, I had a dvd I had bought for Grace. She LOVES music and we often catch her singing along to some Chinese song. During my little shopping spree I had bought her a video of Chinese children's songs with kids dancing. The audio was good, but the visual reminded me of a home movie of a dance recital. Anyway, she loved the video and sang along and "danced" to most of the songs. It was $3 well spent. The other night, after we had gone to bed, I said "love you" to Keith. We hear this loud whisper back from Gracie " I love you." Quite cute. Her favorite word is "trash" Which she pronounces trwash. She also likes to say "go go go" when it is tme to leave for something. She is becoming known for it. Some of the other parents have picked up on it. When they see her flying though the lobby they laugh and say Go, Go, Go! We are working on Wait, wait, wait! Today on the bus, Grace and Keith were playing Peek a boo which she pronounced Pee Ka Bo. I think the fun in that game was the goofy faces Keith was making. Someone said Xie Xie (thank you) on the elevator and she responded "you're welcome." I know she understands a lot of what we say. During the video I was talking to Keith and said that after the video it should be bedtime. She immediately pipes up No. She also understands tomorrow, 5 more minutes and a lot of other phrases.

August 16, 2009 Guangdong Folk Art Museum

2009-08-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

We went to the Guangdong Folk Art Museum. It was a beautiful place. Gracie took charge of the camera and she did a pretty good job. Most of the pictures from there she took.

After that we went to a mall. It was unlike any mall I have ever seen. It had 2 giant wings 5 stories tall each. In the center was an open courtyard with more stores all around it. One wing was nothing but jewlery.

Gracie is doing better out in crowds. She doesn't shut down like she did in
Tianjin.

She is starting to test boundaries in little ways. When we told her it was bathtime Gracie said No. We both said Yes. She sighed and said o.k.

August 14, 2009 Traveled to Guangzhou

2009-08-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

We flew to Guangzhou today. It was Gracie's first plane ride. She did very well with the plane ride. When asked who she wanted to sit by she picked me. She seems to be adjusting well to both Keith and I. I can't really say that she prefers one over the other. She teared up a bit as we were getting ready to leave. I can only imagine what she was thinking about. We are staying at the White Swan. It is a beautiful hotel.

Gracie was a bit under the weather Wed and Thur. so we never did do much in Tianjin.

She is getting comfortable enough with us she is starting to test some boundaries. Still, she minds without too much trouble. Rather, she just wants to see if we mean what we say. She is also starting to let me help her in the bathroom on the very rare occasion she needs help.

She loves the hotel room. The bathroom alone was worth 5 minutes of exploring. She was especially amused by the magnified shaving mirror on a movable arm. She found a button on the night stand that turns off the tv. She has gotten in trouble for pushing that too many times. For a hotel that specializes in adoptive families, there is an amazing number of buttons at kid level.

August 11, 2009 Adoption Day

2009-08-24T06:39:00.000-07:00

This morning the adoption was final. We left right after breakfast for the CCAA and the "notary." It was a bit of a long car ride in stop and go traffic and poor Gracie got car sick. She didn't actually throw up but definitely wasn't feeling well. For that reason, she doesn't look as happy in the pictures as she normally does.

After that it was back to the hotel and lunch at the buffet. The waitress asked me what Gracie wanted to drink. I told her to ask Gracie. She turned to Grace and asked her Coke or Sprite? Grace doesn't really understand that yet. I said "no, in Chinese please." The waitress got a confused look on her face and asked in Chinese. Sure enough, Gracie answered back - in Chinese. LOL I think they must have thought that we adopted her as a baby and she spoke english.

After lunch we went for a walk to a garden and down by the river. We didn't go far. The garden was quite nice. Gracie was excited by a motor boat that went by on the river. It was all quite pretty. The cell phone was charging so we didn't get any pictures.

Older child adoption seems to be a confusing thing here. The fact that she is in a wheelchair seems to confuse them more. We asked Helen what sort of things were being said to and about Gracie when we were out. Obviously some of it has really bothered her. Helen said that people were asking why Americans would want to adopt an older child, why we would want to adopt a child in wheelchair, what was wrong with her etc. Helen also says most people are just curious and assured us it was nothing. Its not that I mind them asking, I just hate that it is upsetting Gracie. I also suspecect there is a bluntness to the questions that bothers Gracie. At least in the U.S. I will understand the conversations and will hopefully be able to keep it from being hurtful to Grace.

One guy said something to Gracie that obviously upset her. We pulled her aside and covered her ears and said Boo (don't) trying to say don't listen to that rude nut. She got it, started giggling and made the crazy sign. That was a turning point and she actually started paying less attention to people's comments.

We actually had a fair amount of down time in the room today. We played with a beach ball which she absolutely loves. She likes her books. The first day we bought her several Chinese books. She has been learning to read and will sit and look at both English and Chinese books for quite a well.

Later we went to the pool. This kid LOVES the pool. We found some swim rings and plopped her in one and she just paddled all over. We had to make her get out when she got too cold. If it had been up to her she would have stayed in.

Gracie loves to snack. She doesn't really want sweet things. She likes chips and gum. We had let her pick out some snacks the first day. Her favorite are the Lays Mango flavored potato chips. They are actually better than I would have thought. They have pringles here too. Should I bring home, crab, shrimp or seaweed flavor? Would you rather pass on the chips? I wish we could take pictures at the stores but it isn't allowed.

We met up with Helen for dinner. When we saw her I was surprised because Gracie started jabbering excitedly to her. She had a lot to say. I couldn't really imagine what as Gracie had been a little withdrawn even to Helen before that. Helen said that she was telling her about our day. The walk, the park, the pool etc. It obviously had been a very good day for Gracie. Gracie also did better being out in public. I think she is learning to ignore people and that whatever attitudes are being expressed about older child adoption and her wheelchair don't apply to Keith and I.

Gracie herself is a terrific kid. Her adjustment so far as been what adoptive parents dream of. Lots of laughs, hugs, teasing. I have received a couple of unexpected leg massages. She is really quite happy. I know she is missing people though. She has a phone number written down and she tries to call it. The number is no longer in service though. It makes me a little sad for her that she can't reach whoever it is. There is also an email address. Once we are in the states we will try to email a couple of pictures for her.

It is amazing how smart she is. She reads some Mandarin and is quite proud about that. She also knows how to say her abcs and can write cat and other simple english words. Even with the language barrier she understands nearly everything that goes on. She is more independent in her wheelchair than even I would have suspected. I helped her into the tub. She called me back to ask which was shampoo and whether the conditioner was body wash. I explained the conditioner and gave her body wash. She didn't need any other help than that. Judging by the smell of her hair she figured out the conditioner. I'm not even to suggest she needs help with the toilet. Very independent in that department. The light switches are about 5 ft up. No problem. She sits on the arm of her chair and reaches it without any trouble. She loves bouncing on the bed. I'm looking forward to coming home and the 4 girls getting to know each other.

She is obviously processing the English. She is hesitant to say the words though. Mandy's name is the only one she will say. I suspect she will be quiet about the English and one day seemingly out of the blue come up with a bunch of complete sentences in English.

I will add a picture or 2 once they are downloaded to the computer.

August 10, 2009 Gotcha Day

2009-08-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

We couldn't have imagined things going any better with Gracie. Because of H1N1 we did not receive Gracie in the usual room. We also were not allowed inside the orphanage itself. We were in a seperate room, the medical facility, on the first floor. We were looking out the window, and Gracie came wheeling across the courtyard with one of the directors. She saw us and broke out into that grin of hers and started waving.

Her foster mom and her 2 older girls were there in the courtyard. As were several of the nannies. Miss Gracie was quite popular at the orphanage and several thanked us for adopting her. Most were teary eyed. Foster Mama was sobbing and that was heart breaking. I went to give her a hug and tell we would take good care of Gracie. I don't know if she understood or not.

Gracie dealt with all of this emotion by wanting to go. Typical kid, just wanted to ignore it. Any way, our next stop was the police station for paperwork for the VISA. It was very crowded and chaotic. It was here that Gracie got a little teary eyed and asked about her nanny and several of the kids. It was also here that she gave me a very clinging arms around my neck and don't let go hug. Later I got a kiss too.

After that, lunch and shopping. Gracie seemed to wear out easily. Helen said she usually takes a 2 to 3 hour nap every day. Anyway, we decided to head back to the hotel for her nap. Put her on the bed and she popped up and started bouncing on it. Naptime turned into rough housing with Daddy. It didn't take long for her to figure out how to tease Keith. We went through her stuff during this time. She actually brought quite a bit with her. 2 big boxes.

We made arrangements to meet with Kimberly. We went to Ancient Market Street, Starbucks and McDonalds. Gracie seems to wilt anytime we are out. I think her life has been very sheltered and she is overwhelmed by all the activity when we are out and about. Once back at the hotel room she comes to life and we have spent the day laughing and teasing each other. Daddy you silly was very quickly learned.

August 9, 2009 Arrive in Tianjin, China

2009-08-24T06:11:00.000-07:00

We made it here safely. Totally exhausted and a bit overwhelmed. It is hard when you don't understand the language and don't even understand the writing. We have a guide named Helen. She is nice, speaks excellent English and is native Chinese.

There are TONS of people everywhere and you move fast.

We wanted to take some things as an orphanage donation, so we went to Wal Mart Super Center. That was an experience! It was located on the second and third floors of a building. You took an escalator. It was kind of like shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Everywhere you looked where people. Packed solid on the escalator and everywhere else. The non-grocery parts of the store weren't too unusual. The toy section was much, much smaller. We bought diapers, cute wipe off boards with Minnie, Micky or Poo on them, markers, crayons and wriitng pads for both English and Chinese writing. They had cute disney characters on them too. We also bought a bunch of candy, toy cars and dolls for the kids.

Next we went downstairs to the grocery store part of the super center. We took the escalator, with the cart. It was a flat ramp escalotor and the cart wheels had little slots that fit into little notches to keep your cart from rolling down ahead of you. The groceries where a lot like the chinese grocery store in KC. All of the raw food was out in the open. It is interesting that in a country where disease control is such a big deal that the food is so exposed.

After that we went to a Chinese fast food restaurant. Helen said it was the Noodle shop. Long, long noodles with bits of meat and vegetables. It was good, but I'm not good with chopsticks and the spoon was different so a little hard to eat.

The driving is rather scary. Buses, cars, bicyclist, and pedestrians are altogether on the roads. Everywhere all at once. Again thing of walking down the aisle at WalMart the day after Thanksgiving only no body is orderly and pushing shoving to get to what they want. This is how it is on the roads. No body pays attention to the lanes painted on the roads. I will never know how we missed several pedestrians and bicyclists. The only rule seemed to be that you lay on the horn and go.

People also park on the sidewalks.

I haven't taken any pictures yet. Everything is moving so fast I didn't want to get left behind. It is about 6:00 a.m here. We are meeting Helen at 8:30 to go get Gracie. Helen says that she knows we are coming and is excited. She says Gracie is a sweet kid and she doesn't think it will be hard for her like some older kids. We will see. Excited that the time is so close. A little worried about manuevering a wheelchair in this sea of humanity though.

We're Back Home

2009-08-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note, we made it back home yesterday. Blogger was blocked in China. I did keep a journal and plan to update the blog as soon as I get a chance and a bit more sleep.

Gracie is adjusting beautifully. She is a terrific kid and couldn't be doing better.

We have definite travel date!

2009-07-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

We will definitely be meeting our daughter August 10th! We are so excited! Waiting for Gracie and loving her half a world away has become such the norm it is hard to believe that in 2 weeks we will meet her. Suddenly I am a bit overwhelmed at the things we need to finish up to get her home.

We are rearranging Mandy's room to accomadate 2 kids. Keith and Mandy finished her loft bed yesterday and it looks great. I still want to paint Gracie's bed, dresser and bookshelves to match the room. We need to decide on final furniture placement. Never mind the sorting and organizing of all the stuff Mandy has collected through the years and that we have collected for Gracie.

Keith also needs to finish the wheelchair ramp to the front door. Our porch is very low though, so hopefully this won't be too big of a project.

Yesterday at church, someone asked me if I was concerned that she doesn't speak much English. I'm really not concerned about her lack of English. I am suddenly VERY concerned about my lack of ability to speak Mandarin Chinese. I am about to spend 2 weeks in a country where I don't know what the sign is for "women's room."

It's a family joke that we can't leave town without stopping at all the Wal Marts. Keith has already discovered a Wal Mart in Tianjin. LOL. I'm making my lists and checking them twice, hoping we don't forget anything important.

Finally, keep us in your prayers. Specifically the kids. Mandy is having some seperation anxiety about us being gone. I don't know why, she will be with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Steve. When it comes to the grandkids neither knows the word "No". We love them and are very grateful to them for supervising the girls during this time. Pray the Grandparents get enough sleep. The girls are typical teens on summer break and like to stay up late.

Pray for Gracie as everything in her world changes. We have heard that she is ready to come home. I also wonder though if she can even begin to comprehend all the changes that are to take place in her life. We probably can't either and maybe we are all better off for that. Keith and I are both pretty good at just taking things as they come.

We have Travel Approval!

2009-07-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Our travel approval came today! Our appointments will be set early next week. Waiting and paperwork has become such a norm. It is hard to believe our daughter will be home soon. It was 2 months and 2 days from LOA to TA.

While we wait.

2009-06-24T09:32:00.001-07:00

We are still waiting for TA. Each day though we are getting closer. Since Gracie has known about us since March, 2008 we have periodically sent her letters and packages through Ann at www.redthreadchina.com She has become one of our "China friends" and someone we hope to meet while in China. I never thought we would travel to China with a list of people we were hoping to meet but we will.

Anyway, Ann sent us a couple of updated pictures and I thought I would share.

Gracie is wearing a dress we sent. Her hair is getting long and we hope she doesn't receive a hair cut before we pick her up. It seems every summer they cut everyone's hair super short and then let it grow for a year.

I think the toys she is holding belong to a friend of hers who is waiting for her family in Texas. http://always-in-myheart.blogspot.com/

Nesting

2009-06-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

When a woman is expecting a baby it is common for her to experience nesting. Often in the final weeks or days of pregnancy she has a desire to clean and get everything ready for baby. I'll admit at 9 months into a pregnancy my attempts were somewhat weak. LOL

As we are in the final weeks of waiting for Gracie to come home I find myself wanting to do the same thing. I have created a to do list for myself a mile long. Clean the basement, organize the junk drawers, finally paint the bathroom etc. Some how the junk and disorganization that seems to be the norm isn't good enough right now.

We have LOA!

2009-05-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Our agency received our LOA today. This is a huge step towards bringing Gracie home. It took 121 days from LID to LOA. We should travel in 6 to 8 weeks. Hang on Gracie, Mama and Baba haven't forgotten you and will bring you home soon.

Swine Flu

2009-05-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Well our latest wait is courtesy of the swine flu. China doesn't want it. They have decided that in order to prevent it from entering their country and their orphanages that they will not issue any travel approvals for adoptive families in June. They don't want a back log of adoptive families and so they are not issuing Letters of Approval either. We are waiting for our LOA. It also turns out our homestudy expires this month and so we are re-newing it.

Please continue to keep Gracie in your prayers. She has known about us since mid-March 2008. She, along with the rest, of us thought she would be long home by now. Maybe it is my Momma's heart aching, but her smile doesn't seem as bright to me lately.

What would you do?

2009-05-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

As we have been journeying towards bringing Gracie home, we have met many other adoptive families. Most online. We have "met" online Gracie's foster sister's mom, her foster brother's future mom, and her best friend's future mom. We are so excited to have contact with these families and hope that some sort of contact can be maintained for the children's sake. We hope to meet them all in person sometime in the future.

We have met many other families too. Some we have contact with, some we just read their blogs. Many have amazing stories.

One blog friend has an incredible story. In February, they met and brought home their 13 year old daughter. On gotcha day, they discover that she had 2 biological brothers she was leaving behind. (The courage of these children amazes me, they have the chance to say "no, they don't want to be adopted.) One brother has "aged out" and can no longer be adopted per China law. This incredible family is trying to bring younger brother home. The problem is, they had no intentions of adopting again especially so soon. They do not have the funds for another adoption so soon. Time is against them though, as younger brother will age out on his 14th birthday. They are moving forward purely on faith that God will provide their needs.

http://wwwourchinagirl.blogspot.com/ See April 29, 2009 The Big News!

Will you keep this family in your prayers? If you have the means and are led, they have a chip in button on their blog. I'm sure even a dollar or two would help.

Blessings,
Cinda

Sweet 16!!!!

2009-04-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this a bit late, but my oldest baby girl turned 16 on April 9th. How can this be? Stay off the sidewalks, she can't wait to get her driver's license. Happy Birthday Aun!

Gracie's Artwork

2009-04-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

The day before my birthday, I was surprised with some scanned drawings Gracie had done. Once again, the refridgerator can boast of a young artist. Aundrea and Bailey are long past that stage. Mandy is a perfectionist, yes Mandy. She won't let me show off her artwork. In her eyes it isn't good enough. In mine, she is quite an artist.

The girl with flowers is my favorite. I asked my Chinese tutor Shuhong what the writing meant. Gracie was copying the writing on the package of pens. It says Snoopy color pens and the name of the company.

Delilah

2009-03-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

Delilah, Katie, Gracie, Eliza

Delilah is Gracie's foster MeiMei (little sister). She met her new family today. We are so excited for them all. It makes me even antsier than ever to go to China and meet my own daughter. Wishing Delilah and her new family a lifetime of happiness together.

God is so good!

2009-03-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

God provided a buyer for our camper!!! This will give us most of what we need. The last little bit is within reach. Thank you to everyone who has contributed with prayers and donations, especially Jean M. and Grandma Sue. It is such a relief to know that the lions share of the money has been provided. Please continue to keep us and Gracie in your prayers as we wait and raise the last of what we need.

Gracie lives in a foster home and has several younger foster sibling. We have struck up an online friendship with her little foster sister's new Mama. We are all very excited that Delilah will be meeting her new family March 23. She will become one of "virtual triplets." http://www.dotyfamilyjournal.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Boo!

2009-03-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

Bailey at about 4 years old. It seems like yesterday!

It is hard to believe, but my sweet Bailey is 14. She's a great kid. I also look up to her. She is at least 5 inches taller than her Mama. =) Obviously she didn't get her height from me.

Learning to wait.

2009-03-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I prayed for patience. Why I thought this was a good idea I will never know. Shortly there after we decided to build a house. Wow I thought that took a lot of patience. Ha it was kindergarten. International adoption, now THAT takes a lot of patience!

In January it was one year since we saw our sweet Gracie's face for the first time. Our current guestimate on when we will travel is June. Gracie has known about us for a year in March. We have heard the wait is starting to wear on her. Keep her in your prayers. A year is forever to an 8 year old.

Currently we are experiencing a budget crunch. Simply put financial resources we thought would become available didn't. We are actively seeking grants, loans and fundraising ideas. Pray for wisdom and God's provision. We know he will provide in his time, but again with the patience. We sure wish we know how that was going to be. We have had lots of discouragement in this area. Can you take back a prayer for patience?

Current Resident

2009-02-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

Mandy loves to go get the mail each afternoon. One afternoon she was surprised by a free sample of a Warm Delights Snack Cake. Very excited, she came racing back into the house shouting "I'm a current resident! I'm a current resident!" Since then she has had more competition for the mail.

A little bit more about Grace

2009-02-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

The top picture is Gracie's referral picture. This was the first picture we saw of her. In the bottom picture Gracie was all dressed up. She liked this dress because it makes her look like a "flower fairy."

Gracie's chinese name is the name that the orphanage gave her after she was found abandoned at 16 months. No one knows what her birth name was. We will give her the call her Grace. We plan to call her by her Chinese name until she wants to be called her American name. We have already been using the nick name of Gracie Yu. Her birthday is in August. She is 8 years old.
Our daughter is described by all as affectionate and friendly, loving and very smart. The Chinese paperwork says that she has the "voice of a nightingale" and enjoys music. The Chinese paperwork also states that she is "obstinate sometimes." I have to laugh at this, I haven't known a kid yet that didn't have a stubborn streak. Most adults too.
When our social worker was in China she fell in love with Gracie. She asked specifically for permission to find her a family. This is the first time a child who uses a wheelchair full time has been placed for international adoption through this orphanage. We are all hoping it will open the doors for the other children with wheelchairs to find their families. There are many of them.
Gracie uses a wheelchair because she was born with spina bifida. There is a little confusion as to whether or not she has sensation in her legs. When this was being tested she was impatient with the process and announced that she could not feel anything, so quit poking her! Observation though indicates that she might have some slight movement and feeling in her legs. We will just have to wait until she comes home and is evaluated by dr.'s here. Hopefully this will occur on a day she is more patient.

Finding Grace

2009-02-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

How we found Gracie
Keith and I have always had an interest in international adoption. During the past couple of years it became apparent that we would adopt a child of our own. After researching international adption, we decided that our 4th child would come from China. We also decided that we would adopt a "waiting child."
A waiting child is either older than 3, and/or has special needs. There are many photolistings on the internet and we began to look at the children.
Initially, I assumed we would adopt a very young child. Now, I couldn't really tell you why I was so sure our next child was very young, but these are the children that I focused on. The more I looked at the pictures of the younger children, the more anxious I began to feel about bringing another child into the family.
One day, the Waiting Children director with an international adoption agency, posted on a yahoogroup about a special little 7 year old girl. She was described as loving, affectionate and very smart. Out of curiosity, I went to the website to check out her picture. When I saw it, I KNEW without a doubt that I had found our daughter. When I showed Keith the picture and bio, he felt the same way.
When I found her picture, all anxiety about a 4th child fell away. I knew that she was our missing 4th daughter. I also knew that we had the experiences and background to meet her special needs without difficulty. In fact, I realized that God had been preparing us all along to bring her into our family. Everything from Keith working as a CNA, to knowing a family with a very independent daughter who used a wheelchair. We had even moved into our very wheelchair friendly house only 6 months before, never realizing that we would have a family member who used a wheelchair. We were ready to begin the paperwork to bring our new daugher home!