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!

Random Pictures...Trying to Catch-Up...Will I Ever?

Well, it's been almost two weeks since my last post...I think. Anyway, I am trying to get caught up on my posting. I'm not sure if that will ever happen, but I am at least making an effort. On May 18, 2011 we went for our second visit to the International Adoption Clinic. We had a good, (but long) time there. We were there a little over three hours! The first person we saw was the Behavioral Therepist. She kept on saying how great Betsy was doing. She said she was very pleased with how well she is adjusting. We still have had no sleep issues, which I believe is a miracle. I thank God everyday for how well she is doing. The therepist said not to be surprised if Betsy starts to have some  behavior issues now that we have been home for several weeks , and is learning her boundries. She definately "tests the waters". I am trying to be firm, but loving. To be honest some days it is hard! She is learning so much...she is a very smart little girl. Her English is getting better and better. It seems like she is learning something new everyday. She is mostly putting 2-3 words together right now...not many full sentences. She will say..."Hello Mama, how you doing?" (I think she says it a million times a day!) She is losing her Chinese a little everyday too. It is sad to me. Some things that she would only say in Chinese she will now only say in English. She will say"Brush your teeth", "Betsy take a bath", and "Mama be right back...just a minute"....she is so cute! Betsy loves her brothers and sister. She also loves to boss everyone around...especially Henry;) Sometimes he lets her, sometimes he doesn't! haha While we were at the clinic we also saw the Developmental Therepist. She sat down with Betsy and got her to string beads together, copy shapes that she drew, put different shaped blocks in a box...matching the shapes as she went along, and picture read a book with her. She was very encouraging and said Betsy is above the average internationally adopted child her age. The therepist gave me some good teaching tips to help Betsy in areas where she is delayed. In some areas she does things on a three year old level, most areas she is about like a four year old, but alot of things are right on target for her age(which is five). I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but at Betsy's orphanage the Half the Sky organization came in 2007 and really made some great changes. The therepists along with Dr. Kiser, one of the clinics physicians, said this was one of the main reasons Betsy was transitioning well. They said it also explains why her delays are minimal. She had alot of individual care and attention. After the last therepist left Dr. Kiser came in and talked to us for a few minutes, then sent us to have labwork done. Betsy had an ultrasound and had about seven vials of blood taken. Let me just say she doesn't like needles! She cried and cried and Todd and I both had to hold her still. I felt so sorry for her. This was at the end of a very long visit!! We got through, and went to McDonald's.:) We will go back for a six month visit. I am so thankful for this precious little girl. She is awesome! We are having so much fun with her. She is very energetic, funny, and much louder than anyone else at our house(except maybe Hugh!) haha We feel so blessed that the Lord allowed us to be her parents. I look at her and just can't believe we have her with us. We are truly thankful!

Betsy's second visit to the IAC.

Waiting for Dr. Kiser.

Betsy and Ba Ba(daddy) coloring while we wait.



Hugh with his friends at Field Day...Cole, Colby, and Hirueya.



Hugh at the Karate station.

Ellie running a relay race...almost there!

Tug-of-War...go Ellie go!!

Ellie and her sweet friend Lily.

First swim of the season goes to Hugh. He went to a friends B'day party.

Henry and Betsy...he's going along with it, but not sure if he has a choice!

Sweet babies:)

Ellie and me after Awards Day. All the fifth graders gave their moms roses. Ellie bought it with her own money...it was a surprise:)

Ellie loves being a big sister to Betsy.