one thousand gifts...

This is the book I am currently reading. It is such a great book! Ann Voscamp is an amazing writer. I have read and re-read many pages of this book. If you haven't read it I highly recommend getting a copy. Maybe one for you, and someone on your Christmas list! I still don't have any pictures to post:( I am still having camara issues! Henry, my youngest has had a fever virus for the past five days, although today he seems to be better...I sure do want him to get well soon! He has been a very sick little boy. Praying that no one else gets it! Betsy is enjoying the holiday season...she keeps saying Christmas is coming, or did you know Christmas is coming? She's so cute:) I think about where she was last year , and how we longed to have her with us. God is so faithful! If your waiting to bring a little one home right now I know exactly how you are feeling. More important than my understanding though, is knowing that the God who called you to the very moment you find yourself in has lead you here by His sovereign hand! Find peace and comfort in the story that He is writing for you...He is in control!! Merry Christmas everyone:) Hopefully pictures soon!

Happy Fall:)

Well, today I got to my computer and was planning on updating my blog. I needed to upload some pictures first. I pick up the cord (can't remember what it's technical name is right now) and the part that should plug into my camara was bent!! I straightened it out, but it is not working:( So, right now Iam not able to add any new pics. I am hoping to have this problem solved soon! I will say we are busy around here...as I know everyone is:) We are looking forward to Thanksgiving next week, and the kids being out of school for a few days. Betsy is doing well, learning something new everyday. I am working with her during the week teaching her the basics...colors and shapes right now.  We read alot too! She knows all her shapes very well, and almost all the basic colors. After Thanksgiving I think she will be ready to move on to letters and numbers. She can spell and recognize her name, and is learning to write her name as well. I am very proud of her...she is enjoying learning. When I think of all she has learned since we have been home my head feels like it's spinning! We are very thankful for her progress. That's all for now...hopefully new pics soon:)

Betsy's Re-Adoption, 6 Months Home, and More:)

Well, like normal I am a little behind on my posting! We have been very busy around here as I know everyone is this time of year. On September 21st we went to the Morgan County Courthouse along with our attorney and met with Judge Greg Cain. This was just a formality really, but necessary to obtain Betsy a birth certificate and social security card. Everything went very well. After we left the courthouse we went to Zen-Beri, our favorite yogurt store, to celebrate! We have had Betsy with us for 6 months now, as of September 28th. The time really has flown by, yet I still look at her and can't believe we really have her! She has been such a blessing:) Last Wednesday night our preschoolers and children performed for our Generations worship service. Betsy was so excited about singing until she saw the room full of people and the big stage she would have to stand on in front of them! I was supposed to let her sit with the children she was in class with, and go sit with Todd and Henry. Well, she didn't like that at all!! She started crying and saying she didn't want to sing. I took her over to see Todd and he tried to encourage her, but she continued to say she didn't want to sing. I took her back to sit with her class and told her I would sit with her till it was her turn to sing. She liked that idea. The program began, and there were two or three classes before hers. By the time it was her turn she was ready to go! I was so glad she did it. They sang about five songs, and she did great! She did all the motions, and sang her little heart out. My favorite song was Jesus Loves Me. They sang it at the end. Tears filled my eyes as I watched her sing that beautiful song. Six months ago she had never heard the name of Jesus, and now she was praising him for his love for her!! Thank you Jesus for loving me, a sinner, who was once an orphan before you redeemed me and made me into a new creation. Thank you for my heavenly adoption. I am so glad to be called your child!
Romans 8:16; Ephesians 1:5

Betsy just grabbed up Judge Cain's hand and we fell in beside her!



Mama, Daddy, and Betsy

Mama's little sweeties:)

Enjoying Zen-Beri yogurt...Yum!!

Betsy's first performance.

Emma and Betsy singing praises to God!

Betsy's favorite song...Go Go Joshua:)

Betsy singing with all her heart Jesus Loves Me.

Betsy's Eye Appointment

Here is the other post I promised! It is a little later than I meant for it to be, but I finally got to it:) We went to Children's Hospital in Birmingham last week and Betsy saw a pediatric opthamologist. The visit went very well. It was a little longer than I had hoped for, but that's the way it goes sometimes. The worst part of it all was when they had to dialate Betsy's eyes. She did not like that at all!! The nurse told us the drops for her were stronger because she has brown eyes, and she is a child. Brown-eyed children take longer to dialate therefore she needed stonger drops, and more of them. The Dr. came in after we waited for thirty min. for her eyes to dialate. He told us Betsy did have a little nystagmus in her right eye(not her left, as we were told was her special need), and esotropia in that eye. He told us we would need to patch her left eye (the good eye) for 2-3 hrs. everyday for three mths. At the end of that time we will go back and he will check her right eye to see if there is any improvement. He is hoping to see that her right eye is strengthened because it has been forced to work with the left eye patched. He said after we check her progress we will discuss surgery. The surgery will be done to both eyes to strengthen her eye muscles. We are very thankful to be to this point, and are glad this seems to be something that can be easily corrected. I have posted the pictures from Betsy's first day with the patch. As you can see she really didn't like it at first, but gradually accepted it. She cryed on and off the 2 hrs. she had it on the first day. We patched Bitty Baby's eye too, which seemed to help...a little:) Now she wears it and will ask when we are taking it off, but doesn't cry. She's doing great! Sorry the first picture is going the wrong way...couldn't get it turned around!

Summer 2011

Ok...yes I know summer is officially over now, and I am way behind on blogging! So, with that said...here are some pictures from our summer. We had such a great time swimming, going to Point Mallard, and spending time with family and friends. We took Betsy to Children's Hospital in Birmingham on Wednesday to see the pediatric opthamologist. I will post on that in the next couple of days...promise!

Still Blogging...

Maybe I should say I'm still trying to blog!( haha) I have so much to share, but for now this will just be a quick post to say...stay tuned :) School has started, and we are trying to get into that routine again. I loved having the kids home for the summer. They are growing so fast, and I don't ever want to take the time I spend with them for granted. Each one adds something special to our family! Henry will start back to our Mother's Day Out program at church next week, and on the days that he is there I am going to be very intentional about the time I am spending with Betsy. She is doing great, but there are alot of things we need to work on together. It will be nice to spend some time one on one with her. I am so thankful for this precious little girl. Today I was watching her play, and thought back to last year. It seemed like we would never get to her! Now, here she is playing around our home like she has always been with us. I am so thankful for God's sovereignty...his plans are like none other:)

August 3, 2010

Here is the journal entry from last year on the day we accepted Betsy's referral. "We have looked at the files...no pictures yet! Both sound good...taking them to our pediatrician's office for him to look over, and give us his opinion. Also, Todd is calling our eye doctor to ask questions about Nystagmus."

"Later today...talked to our pediatrician. He said both files looked good. We found out today the 2 year old is in the hospital recovering from surgery. I would like to know a little more about the 4 year old. Lord guide us in our decision."

"Around 10:30 tonight we accepted the refferal for Ha Xin Miao, the little girl who is 4 with Nystagmus. What an emotional experience this has been. I feel like I just found out I am pregnant! Lilly locked in our file, and we have to complete our LOI now!"

This was after we talked to Amy, and locked in the file. Todd had already got in bed and I made him get up so I could take a picture!

This was the first picture we saw of Betsy.

This picture is my favorite...you can really see those cheeks!!

I can't begin to tell you how exciting, and crazy that day was. I was on and off the phone with our agency all day. They were great!! I was also given the name of a girl in Atlanta who had adopted two children...one with an eye issue,and the other with a heart need. She was so sweet, and really encouraged me to check into the two year old more. I just did not have any peace about it...I really felt all along our daughter was older...around 4 or 5. The two year old had about a week of recovery, and we couldn't find out anything until she was released from the hospital. There are just so many ways the Lord proved himself faithful that day. The more we looked at Betsy's file, and the more we learned about her special need the more it felt right. We didn't look at any pictures of either file until we felt like Betsy's refferal was the one for us. It was late that night, and Todd and I agreed to look at her picture. When we saw that sweet face and those chubby cheeks we looked at each other with tears in our eyes and knew this was our daughter. I ran downstairs, called Amy who works for our agency, and said "tell Lilly to lock in her file." Amy, by the way, lives in Atlanta, so it was about 11:30p.m. for her! Thanks again Amy:) When we finally got in the bed I had a hard time going to sleep. I now had a child across the globe, and I felt a desperate urgency to get to her! It would take a little over 7 months for that to happen!! It was so hard at times, but what I learned from the Lord during those months was( and is) a treasure to me. He is so mighty, awesome, and in control of every detail...he is a wonderful, merciful Savior! If you are adopting, and are in this time of waiting remember God is Faithful...he has not left you, nor forsaken you! He is in control of your beautiful adoption story:)

August 2, 2010

"Amy called (@ 11:34) today with two files for us to look at. One child is 2 years old born in Oct. of 2007, just 2 months younger than Henry. The other child is 4 years old and her birthday is March 19, 2006. The 2 year old has a heart need, the 4 year old has Nystagmus (an eye need). We are going to look at the files...Lord guide us, speak to our hearts." This was my journal entry one year ago. Wow...what an amazing journey that followed! God is so good!! I will post tomorrow what I wrote the following day:)

Girls Night Out, and 4 Months with Betsy:)

First of all let me say thanks to all who are still following my blog, and asking when will you ever post again?(this is for you;) Let me just say that 5 kids+summer+one VERY slow computer=no time!! I can't believe we have had Betsy four months now! She is doing so good. I am so thankful for her fun personality. She is a special little girl, and I am glad she's mine. Betsy loves the pool, and water in general. I say that because we met some friends at the lake last week and she had a ball jumping off the dock into the water. I wasn't sure what she would think about the lake water, but she was great! I am hoping to post pics of our trip soon (hint hint Julie W.) as soon as my sweet friend sends them to me!haha On to the girls night out...this was my first "night out" since we have been home from China. It was so much fun to get together with friends, eat out, talk, laugh, and just enjoy each others company. Todd has put Betsy in bed without me at home one other time, but it was kind of accidental. I went to the grocery store one night about three weeks ago, and got home around 9:00pm. I thought he would probably keep her up until I got home, but when I got back she was in the bed. He said she came up to him, said she was sleepy, and he put her to bed...that simple. She slept all night...no problem! I knew from that night that she would be fine, but I still worried about having to leave while it was still a couple of hours away from bedtime. She was great, and Todd had no problems! I also want to say how blessed I have been to be able to talk to a couple of you who are in the adoption process, and have been reading my blog. Thank you for letting me know how I have encouraged you through your adoptions. I am thankful that God is using our journey to help others.

Betsy's Eyes

On Friday(July 1st) we went to the eye doctor. This is the appointment we have been anticipating since we have been home from China. When we accepted Betsy's refferal her special need was Nystagmus of the left eye. Nystagmus is a shaking of the eye. It can be very mild to very severe. When we asked about her eye we were told that if you are looking at her you could not see the shaking. The only thing we could tell from pictures was that her right eye seemed to turn in. When we were in China and went for her medical exam the doctor told us the Nystagmus was undetectable. We were also told by the orphanage director that she was going to get glasses the week we went to get her, but since we were getting her that week they decided to hold off on getting the glasses. Well, when we went to the doctor Friday we found out the reason the Nystagmus was undetectable...it's because she doesn't have Nystagmus!! She really has a problem with both of her eyes called Alternating Esotropia. When we got Betsy we could tell that both of her eyes seemed to turn in at different times. Sometimes we would look at her and both eyes looked like they were turning in. Our eye doctor also told us Friday that she has monocular vision which means she is only seeing out of one eye at a time. So, it would be like covering one eye for a little while then covering the other eye and seeing out of it for a little while. He said she has probably experienced double vision from time to time. After the exam was completed he told us that she is not far sighted which is usually the case when you have a child with a "lazy eye", so glasses would not help her. He told us we would need to go to a pediatric opthamologist. Dr. Cobb also said that she would probably need surgery to correct her problem. The surgery would reposition the eye muscles so her eyes would not turn in anymore. Then, after surgery we would need to do eye therepy to correct the monocular vision so she would be able to see equally out of both eyes. The good news is that her vision is good, and if she does need surgery it would be outpatient. Our appointment to see the pediatric opthamologist will not be until September 7th, which was the first available appointment they had. I am so thankful for our precious little girl. I pray that we are the blessing to her throughout her life that she has already been to us. I am so glad we can get her the help she needs for her sweet little eyes:)

Memorial Day/Betsy's 1st Trip to Point Mallard

Betsy crying because she does not want to get in the pool.

We had alot of fun Memorial Day, and have been busy enjoying our summer! I love this time of year:) I enjoy having the kids home, and going to the pool. We went to my parents house Memorial Day. They have an above ground pool with a deck around one side. The kids love going to Nana and Papa's...especially during the summer! Betsy was not too excited about the pool at first(as you can tell by the first picture). She gradually got in, and ended up having a blast! She did not want to get out. The entire process from crying not wanting to get in to actually getting in and having fun took about 45 min. She is like that about everything. She is cautious at first, but when decides to do something she is in it all the way! The day after Memorial Day my mother came for a visit, and we all went to Point Mallard Water Park. We always buy season passes to Point Mallard. It is only about 20 minutes from our house. The kids love it! I was curious to see what Betsy would do. She loved it, but again had to take it in slowly. She is learning something new everyday. A little over a week ago she started telling me NO to just about everything! She is getting better though. It's almost like she just wants to see if she can get away with it! She has also started using the word "because" alot. She loves to talk and I can tell she really wants to tell some really big long stories, but just doesn't have the vocabulary for it yet. Thankfully, for now anyway, she doesn't seem to be frustrated by it. She is such a joy...a little sweetie!

Big sis Ellie trying to tell her it will be fun.

She's really thinking about it!

There she goes...not ready yet.

Betsy decided to come back and sit down by Henry.

She's out again...needed a little drink!

Betsy's still thinking about the pool while enjoying some time with Nana.

Finally! Didn't get a picture of her getting in...I think I had given up!

Having so much FUN!!

Getting in at Point Mallard's "Duck Pond" with Nana and Ellie holding her hands.

Swinging...not too high though! She said..."just a little bit".

I love these sweet babies:)

Betsy and Henry...two little fish!

Ready for a nap!