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:)