The White's Journey to China

A Mommy's Prayer. . .

2012-01-28T16:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Heavenly Father,

I pray for Dr. Blount and his entire surgical team and their families this weekend. I pray that each one of them is healthy, well-rested and is filled with your peace and joy. I pray that your presence will be in that operating room, Monday morning, and that your angels will be in attendance to watch over our Mei Li and hold her hand during surgery since Mommy will not be able to. You know, Dear Lord, how much it means to Mei Li to hold her Mommy's hand every night while she falls asleep. I pray that you will give Dr. Blount a supernatural wisdom and precision and that your Holy Spirit will guide his hands during the procedure. I pray that Mei Li will have a peace in her heart and that You will calm her fears.

I pray that this procedure will be successful! I pray that the tumor will be successfully detached. I pray that you will keep spinal fluid from leaking. I pray that Mei Li will be healthy and have NO infection. I pray for "no" paralysis. And, I pray that Mei Li will remain continent. And, while I'm asking You for so much, I'm going to go ahead and ask You to please allow movement and feeling to return to Mei Li's lifeless little foot. I know that we have been told that that "will not" happen. And, we are at peace if You choose to leave it as it is. But, I also know that nothing is impossible for You. So, while we are "praying BIG prayers", I'm going to go ahead and claim that too!

I love you, Lord! You have blessed our family in so many beautiful ways. And You have blessed us mightily with our sweet Anna Grace and our newest angel, Mei Li. Please hold her in the palm of Your hand on Monday. And, I pray that You will use the miracle of her precious life and radiant spirit in mighty ways.

I pray for your peace and calm to rest on Geoff, Anna Grace, me and the whole family as we wait. We place Mei Li in your hands, and we will confidently "believe", and hold on to the faith and hope we have in You and the incredible people You have given us to care for our little girl.

Father, we remain "available" for You. Come, Holy Spirit. . .

Amen

T Minus 2 and counting. . .

2012-01-27T23:06:00.000-08:00

Mei Li's amazement watching the circus!!

We just got the call this morning that Mei Li's spinal surgery is a "first-start" on Monday morning. We are to check in to the hospital at 5:30 a.m. and surgery is scheduled for 7:15. She is expected to be in the hospital for 3-4 days; and, if all goes as planned, home on her back for 10 days.

The 4 areas of concern regarding the surgery are 1. leaking of spinal fluid 2. incontinence

3. infection 4. potential paralysis

Please keep our sweet girl in your prayers. And, we ask that you pray, specifically, for these things. . . And, of course, that Dr. Blount will be able to accomplish his goal of detaching the tumor from her spinal chord.

BUT, "today" we had fun!! We went to the circus! It was Mei Li's first circus experience, and we had ringside seats!! Thanks to our sweet friends Tammy and Lamana for inviting us to join them! It was an amazing show, and Mei Li was wide-eyed, open-mouthed . . . with occasional squeals throughout! However, she is very sensitive to loud noises, and the noise level was incredible. So, about an hour into the show, I had to take Mei Li out due to her not feeling well. Anna Grace stayed with our friends and enjoyed the whole show, while I took Mei Li next door to Birmingham Children's Theatre and visited with all of our good friends there. A Coke (which Mei Li calls Kuhla) and some crackers and lots of attention from our friends at BCT, and Mei Li was feeling fine in no time!!

We're gearing up for Monday, and Geoff's Mom ,"Yaya", is flying in on Sunday to help out for the next two weeks. I am so very thankful that she is coming to lend a hand! And, the girls are ecstatic that they are going to get some much-needed Yaya time!

I'll keep everyone posted on Mei Li's progress on Monday. And, as always, thanks for your prayers and for continuing to follow our journey.

Sweet Story. . . From a Sweet Heart

2012-01-25T22:04:00.000-08:00

I just have to share a Mei Li story that happened a little over a week ago, and it warmed my heart. I had to go to the ENT to find out why I was experiencing hoarseness. It was noticeable to me when I spoke, but especially when I tried to sing. It had been going on for a while, and wasn't getting better. So, I loaded up Anna Grace and Mei Li and took them with me to the ENT. He scoped me and took pictures of my vocal chords while he had me sing certain pitches. Long story short, it turns out that I have acid reflux, and some irritation of the vocal chords from using my speaking voice too harshly. I'm guilty of calling to the girls from upstairs and downstairs, refereeing their minor arguments and laying down "the law" with my "Mommy voice" too much. So, he prescribed, Prilosec (for the reflux), Prednisone (to bring down the irritation, as I was to sing in a benefit concert the following week), and vocal rest.

We got home from the doc, and Mei Li came to me, very concerned. She asked, "Mommy, ni binglung?" (Mommy, you sick?) I told her that Mommy's voice is hurt, and I can't sing for a little while. I have some medicine to take, and I have to rest my voice.

Mei Li's eyes widened and a dark cloud came over her little face. Tears began to well up in her sweet brown eyes, and she began to cry. She said, her voice breaking, "Mommy, wo yaw Mommy better. Wo yaw mommy sing".

You see, Mei Li absolutely loves music. She loves it more than most children. She can't get enough of it. But, at the top of her list is her Mommy's music. I sent her one of my CDs in a care package when she was in the orphanage in China. I had no idea if they were going to play my music for her, but my hope was that they would. And, I hoped that she could begin to know her mother's voice through my music---especially, song #6 "Songbird". I recorded that song in Mei Li's honor. It is her song, sung to her by her mother who was waiting for her. Since she has come home, all she wants to do is listen to Mommy's music. She has a very opinionated musical palate. She will quickly tell you that she doesn't want to hear quite a number of musicians! Lol! But, she will ask to hear "Mei Li's song" all the time. Over and over she will ask me to play it, and she will comment on the lyrics in the song. "Mommy, Mei Li boo yaw cry", after I sing the line "For you, there'll be no more crying". And, as soon as the last note plays, she asks me to play the song again.

What an angel with a sweet heart. It broke her heart to learn that her mother, who's music means so much to her. . . and comforted her while she was in that orphanage in Shanghai. . . could not sing because her voice was injured. Those tears caught me by surprise, but taught me, even more, what a loving and special little girl we have the honor of calling our daughter.

Neurosurgeon consult

2012-01-19T19:59:00.000-08:00

An early birthday dinner and dessert for Mei Li!

Mei Li's MRI film

Today was a LONG and important day. We began our morning by heading down to Children's South to meet with Mei Li's neurosurgeon, Dr. Blount. He reviewed Mei Li's MRI film, his findings, the risks of surgery, the risks of "not" doing surgery and his plan. He was incredible and took great care to make sure we understood every detail. We are very thankful the Lord has placed Mei Li in Dr. Blount's very capable hands. Then, we were sent downtown to the main hospital to have her pre-op blood work done.

First, Dr. Blount found that Mei Li's lipoma is on the dorsal side of the spinal chord. This, he told us, is GOOD! It is much less risky to operate on than if it had been on the bottom where all of the nerve endings are. He explained that if it had been on the bottom, "it would be like dumping a container of glue into a pot of spaghetti and trying to get the glue out." Thankfully, the lipoma is on the dorsal side and will be more contained. However, there are still risks. The fatty tumor is not just up against the spinal chord, the fibers that bind it are wrapped around and fused to the spinal chord. So, he explained that operating on abnormal tissue that is intertwined and fused to the spinal chord and nervous system does come with its risks. But, the risks during surgery are less than 10%.

He also told us that the risks of "not" doing surgery are between 70-80% chance of Mei Li growing into an adult with paralysis and loss of bowel control. There are two schools of thought among neurosurgeons. . . "to do surgery" and "leave it alone". Neurosurgeons in the U.S. tend to be more aggressive in their approach to be pro-active and derail the inevitable. Whereas, there are fine neurosurgeons around the globe who argue to leave alone what is "not yet broken". They feel that surgery is taking too big of a risk and could cause neurological problems that were not present before the surgery. Dr. Blount told us that by choosing to "do" the surgery, we are choosing to take all of our risk up-front. If there is a neurological problem, it will happen in a matter of 2-3 hours (the time it takes to do the surgery) rather than over a long, slow period of adolescence where there is gradual decline as a result of growth. But, the risks to do nothing far exceed the risks to do something. So, we are going to do all we can to ensure Mei Li the brightest future possible.

The surgery to detach the lipoma from Mei Li's spinal chord is scheduled for January 30. It was moved up one day. She will be in the hospital between 3-4 days if all goes as planned. Then, she will come home and be "still" and "on her back" for 10 days!!! :-/ I asked if this procedure comes with a magic wand. Keeping this little one still for 10 minutes is a chore. . . 10 days???? Whew!! I'm not looking forward to that! He did tell me that she would be able to get up to go to the bathroom and get a bath. And, one of the big things we will need to be on the lookout for is the leaking of spinal fluid. If there is a leak, then we will have to go back in and get the leak stopped. Oh, yes. . . and I did ask him if this surgery might bring back the sensation in her "dead foot". He said, "No". He told us that that foot is as good as it's ever going to be. At least we know, now.

I am attaching an image of Mei Li's MRI film. It shows her spine, and if you look at the lower part of her spine, near the tailbone, you will see a small white mass pressed into the smooth spinal chord. That is the fatty tumor (lipoma). You can't see the fibers that are wrapped around the spinal chord, but they are there. And, over time, as Mei Li grows, those fibers would pull and tether the spinal chord. There is also a fatty pocket on the outside, right underneath the skin. But this fatty mass is not posing any danger to Mei Li. The one he will be operating on, that poses the risk of paralysis, is the small white mass attached to the chord.

On a very happy note, our Mei Li is celebrating her 5th birthday tomorrow! She has never celebrated a birthday before, and how wonderful that she will experience her first celebration with her new family who adores her! Sweet thing. . . I asked her what special present she hoped to receive on her birthday. She responded with, "A sucker!". I asked her what special meal she wanted her mommy to make for her. She answered with "Soup and goldfish". I'm sure in another year her answers will be very different. But, I find it beautiful that this little girl who has never celebrated a birthday in her 5 years would find such joy in a sucker, soup and goldfish! And, she gave Geoff and me a present of our own today. We were riding in the car to the hospital for her appointment, and she told us, "Mama, Wo boo yaw China (I don't want China). Wo yaw Mommy (I want Mommy). Wo yaw Daddy. Wo yaw Jeh Jeh. Wo boo yaw China. Wo yaw family." Happy birthday, baby girl! That is one birthday wish we promise you today and forever!!

Some Pretty Big Blessings!

2012-01-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Anna Grace at her Baptism!

1/15/12

My sweet girls enjoying some push-pop fun at Chuy's!

Baby girl finds a "cherry treasure!!"

The awe and wonder in Mei Li's eyes over this push pop!!

She looks like she's waiting for it to explode!

A little elbow grease always gets the job done!

Not gonna let a little push pop get the best of her!!

Baby girl loves her some hard-boiled eggs! Yum!

Getting her daily leg stretches with Daddy and Minnie Mouse :)

And, of course, Minnie must get in on the exercise too!

This has already started out to be an amazing week! Today, my Anna Grace got baptized at our church! I am so happy she made the decision to share her commitment to the Lord with the church. Her Mama B, Uncle Scott, Aunt Emmalie, cousins Ramsey and Bryant, our friend, Heather, and of course, Mom, Dad and Mei Li were all there along with the entire 10:45 service to celebrate with her! It was a wonderful moment!

To top this off, there are a few more BIG things happening this week! Thursday is our appointment with the neurosurgeon to discuss Mei Li's upcoming surgery that will take place on the 31st of this month. He will review Mei Li's MRI film and discuss his game plan with us for surgery. I will certainly update as soon as we learn news from this consult.

Friday. . . DRUM ROLL. . . is our Mei Li's 5th birthday!!!! It's wonderful to know that Mei Li will have her first birthday celebration with her family in her new homeland! I asked her if she ever had a birthday party in China. She said, "No". So, this week, we will have a small birthday celebration for our sweet girl. Mama is still working on an idea, and we'll see how it turns out. Mei Li wants to swim more than anything. She begs me all the time to take her swimming. When we were in China at the hotel, she had to miss out on swimming because of the terrible pressure ulcer on her foot. Big sis got the chance to go when Mei Li went down for her naps, but she always would awaken to find big sis gone swimming. She has never been swimming before and this is her big wish. So, I've been on the phone with a local hotel to see if we can arrange a little swimming party for her. Whatever turns out, I'll have some pics later this week of Mei Li's 5th birthday to share!!

Saturday is a benefit concert at the Trussville Civic Center that I've been asked to sing in with some other area artists. It is for a great cause and I'm honored to be a part of it! The event is to raise funds for a facility that will provide recreation and social activities for adults with disabilities. It's called Independence Place. As a mom to a little girl with disabilities, this is something close to my heart. I hope it will be a success and bring the necessary funds to get this wonderful facility off and running!! So proud of my city for providing something like this for our community!

I am praying for a little Divine intervention, however. I've noticed a bit of hoarseness over the past few months, even though I've not been performing much at all since coming home with Mei Li. I went in to the ENT on Friday to get it checked before this upcoming benefit concert. He scoped me and took some pics of my vocal chords. It showed that I have acid reflux and inflammation of my vocal chords. So, I'm on vocal rest this week, taking prednisone t0 reduce the inflammation and Prilosec twice a day to reduce the acid and lots and lots of water. I'm bummed that I have this going on and it's left me in less than stellar voice. . . but I'm so very thankful that we discovered the problem before permanent damage occurred. Hoping a week with some vocal rest and meds will help along with a little touch from above .

Another great bit of news to follow-up on my last post. Anna Grace went in to the "Alice in Wonderland" audition at Birmingham Children's Theatre a week ago. We got the call at the first of the week that she was selected for the role of ALICE!!!! She is absolutely over the moon! She has already memorized the first 10 pages of the script, and I'm enjoying watching her take this opportunity and blossom. This part came at such a critical time. Anna Grace has been such a fantastic big sis to Mei Li, but she has had to take a back seat a great deal during the last months while we've been prioritizing Mei Li's surgeries and medical visits. . . and acclimating her to her new family and home. As patient and loving as she has been, I know it gets tough sometimes. And, she has been needing something of "her own" to challenge and grow her. The call from BCT that AG was selected was a gift from God, for sure! She needed that shot in the arm, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect! So, if you find yourself in the Birmingham area in April, come out and see Anna Grace in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" at Birmingham Children's Theatre! Yay, Anna Grace!!

So many good things, it's hard to keep it all straight! But, thanks for following and I'll certainly keep updating!

Mei Li's Surgery is Scheduled!

2012-01-06T21:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! We certainly are thrilled to be entering 2012 with our long-awaited Mei Li home with us. She has added so much joy and life to our family! What a blessing she is. . .

Today, we received a phone call from Dr. Blount's nurse to schedule Mei Li's surgery. We were expecting her spinal surgery to fall around the end of February, but tonight we found out we are on the books for January 31st!! We have a consult with Dr. Blount to discuss Mei Li's MRI film on the 19th. We have been told to expect her to be in the hospital for 4 days. Then, she will need to be on her back and "still" for about 7 days at home. . . For those of you who know our Mei Li. . . you are probably shaking your heads in disbelief, right now. This little one is always on the go. . . busy, busy, busy!!! Keeping her still for 3 minutes is a task. Seven days is monumental! Mama is going to need some divine intervention to help her manage this task. :-) We are thrilled to get this major surgery behind her. Every day that passes, the risk increases that she could have problems with her spinal chord tethering from the tumor. We want our Mei Li to have as bright of a future as possible. . . and we want her to be able to embrace that future as soon as possible!

It is amazing to look back and realize that Mei Li has been home for 3 months. She has been through serial casting for 5 weeks, a surgery on her Achilles tendon, casting, braces on her foot and now surgery to detach this tumor from her spine. By the time she enters February, she will have completed her major surgeries, and her foot and spine will have been corrected! Hallelujah!!! :)

I will post more details once we meet with Dr. Blount.

And, on another note, I am so proud of my Anna Grace! She has a big audition tomorrow, and has put it together in a day and a half!!! She has memorized a pretty hefty monologue and is ready to audition for the part of Alice in Alice in Wonderland! Whether she gets cast or not. . . she has done a brilliant job getting it learned and delivering it in a delightfully "Alice" way! Break a leg tomorrow, Anna Grace!!! Mom and Dad are so very proud of you!

Good night! And, thanks for following :)

Call from Dr. Blount came today

2011-12-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

Well, after 10 days of waiting on Mei Li's MRI results, we got a phone call from Dr. Blount. Yay!! It was a relief to hear his voice on the phone this morning. This is the low-down.

After reviewing Mei Li's MRI, he says that it is exactly what he expected. She has a large lipoma on her spine and it has a substantial risk of causing tethering of her spinal chord as she grows. He says that "tethering" is nothing that is going to happen in the next hour or the next week. . but, as she "is" growing every day, we do not need to "sit" on this and let the grass grow, either. He is glad we already had the urodynamics test done on Mei Li (which we did just yesterday). He said that waiting for the urodynamics test is usually the thing that slows down the surgery process. It was "DONE" yesterday!!! So, there is nothing standing in the way of him being able to perform surgery as soon as he can get it put on his calendar.

He told me that Geoff and I will both need to come in to meet with him before he performs any surgery so he can review the film of Mei Li's MRI with us, discuss surgery, explain the risks. . . and get on the same page with a game plan. We are to hear from his nurse by the end of next week to get some dates on the calendar. He is backlogged on cases from December due to some academia he had to pursue. And, he is going out on holiday tomorrow to return next week. He is anticipating Mei Li's surgery to happen sometime around the end of February.

I asked what this surgery would look like (as far as how long Mei Li will take to recover). He said that the surgery will take several hours, she will be in the hospital for 3-4 days (unlike his colleagues who keep them in for 7-10 days). He usually tries to keep them in the hospital a shorter time and then let them recover at home where we will need to keep her "as still and on her back" as possible for about another week after she is sent home from the hospital. She will then come back into the clinic for a follow-up. The soft tissue will take 4-6 weeks to heal. . . then, normal activity!!!! Mei Li could essentially be ready for normal activity by the spring!!!!

I look forward to getting these dates on the calendar and getting Mei Li's life-changing surgery done. . . so she can start embracing her new life and claim her "new future" as opposed to what lay before her in China!!! Thank you, Lord!!!

OH. . . and about Mei Li's urodynamics test, yesterday. It was not completely normal, as there were some abnormal bladder contractions early on in the test due to abnormal nerve activity. But, it didn't interfere with her ability to control her bladder, at all. Dr. Joseph was very pleased, overall, with her function. It was a traumatic test for Mei Li. It hurt and she was wide awake for it. She had to be awake in order to be able to respond to the fluid being pumped into her bladder. Thankfully, I was able to be with her and hold her hand. And, her Mama B was in the room too, and that was a comfort to Mei Li as well. And, the sweet nurse blew bubbles and Mei Li loved trying to catch them. That worked for a while, until her bladder got so full of the contrast solution that she couldn't focus on the "fun" anymore. Then, there were some pretty major tears. But, mommy was there to wipe them, and then the test was over. Bless her sweet heart. With her eyes and lips swollen from crying so hard, and as I was dressing her after the test, Mei Li told Dr. Joseph, "Bye bye and thank you." We are so thankful that is behind us. . . especially now that Dr. Blount is wanting to do surgery by the end of February.

I will keep you all posted on the details as we learn more!

Magical Christmas Moments 2011 :)

2011-12-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Some magical moments this Christmas. . . in pictures! Merry Christmas, everyone!! :)

Angel in candlelight

Silent Night, Holy Night. . .

Sweet girl

Christmas Eve Candlelight service with Mama B.

Candlelit angel

Snuggles with Mama B

Childhood innocence. . .

Hope. . .

Enjoying this most magical and blessed Christmas with my family

Anxiously awaiting the moment they can open their "first" present of Christmas!!

Oh my goodness!!! It's an American Girl box!!!!!! :D

Enthusiasm uncontained!!! ;-)

I absolutely LOVE this sweet face!

Cousin Ramsey. . . "OH BOY, OH BOY!!! :)

Sweet expression of "This is JUST what I wished for!!!"

My lovely Anna Grace and her first sewing machine!! This girl is going to sew some doll clothes!! :)

Bryant is excited about his dinosaur fossil toy!!

Hey!!!! She looks like ME!!!! :D

Sweet Bryant is overcome with excitement!!

Cutie-patootie on her new little scooter!! :)

AG checking out the treasure in her stocking. . .and Milo (the cat) wants to know if any of it is for him. ;)

A trike to build up Mei Li's leg muscles! AND, it has a basket to hold all of her goodies!! :)

AG got her BIG wish!!!

AG is overcome with "WOW!!!" Dooley??? Not so much ;)

A "Wah wah" for Mei Li

Check out those pretty finger nails!!! :)

Adoption. . . a beautiful reflection of God's love for us.

2011-12-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most powerful Christmases we have ever had. And, the reason for that is not some crazy, awesome gift in fancy paper under a twinkly tree. It has to do with something God has opened our hearts and minds to. . . and now we understand some things that we never fully understood before. And, he has used a 4 year old little girl as His instrument to teach us.

When we began our journey to adopt Mei Li, we "were" acting in faith on that still small voice inside that was telling us to step out, act boldly on what we were being called to do and believe. But, we still didn't see the whole picture. However, over the four years of our roller coaster ride to Mei Li; and in the time that she has been with us. . . an amazing picture has emerged and shown us a truth with great clarity. That picture was painted for us just last night when our little Mei Li was in her Daddy's arms at the mailbox looking back up at our house on the hill with all of it's Christmas lights twinkling against the night. She stood back, in her Dad's arms, looked up at her home and said, "Daddy, Mei Li's home." When she was in that orphanage in China for all of her years, she had no idea the wonderful future that awaited her in America. She truly couldn't conceive of the treasures that were in store for her, the bedroom that had been prepared "just" for her, and the unconditional love that was waiting to embrace her. Mei Li did not "initiate" the adoption. We did. Her parents "chose" her and invited her in to be a daughter and an heir. It is a permanent offer. . . not temporary. . . not conditional.

The Lord has shown Geoff and me through our journey that "adoption" on this earth mirrors God's adoption of us as His children through the gift of His Son, Jesus. And, I can't think of a better time to share this truth that has been made clear to us than on Christmas Eve. . . Our heavenly Father authored "adoption" when He sent the gift of His only Son to us on Christmas over 2 thousand years ago. As a result, we are invited to be heirs in His heavenly kingdom. . . a permanent home on high.

I am also reminded, often, of the verse in the Bible where Jesus says, (Whatever you do for the least of these, you do to me.) And, that is paraphrased. Every time I look into Mei Li's sweet little face, I remember Jesus saying that. And, I realize that I may be looking right into the face of Jesus.

So, as we prepare for all of the celebration of Christmas morn, I remember the "gift" of Jesus who is the foundation of it all. And, I think of the love and hope that gift brought the world. And, I will enjoy both of my precious gifts of Anna Grace and Mei Li as they experience the wonder of Christmas. But, as I look into the beautiful brown eyes of my sweet daughter, Mei Li, I will remember that I, too, am adopted. . . by my heavenly Father. And, having learned from His demonstration of love for me, Geoff and I share the same gift given to us with her. And, the result? Our hearts feel as if they might burst with love and joy over the incredible "gift" Mei Li is to our family this Christmas, and from now onward.

Merry Christmas, friends!

2 Magical Moments with our Mei Li. . . just in time for Christmas

2011-12-23T17:40:00.000-08:00

Today, we had two magical moments with our Mei Li. I'll start by sharing the funny one. Tonight, Anna Grace wanted to help wrap some of Mei Li's presents. So, I went downstairs with her to help. I told Mei Li she needed to stay with Daddy upstairs, and that I would be right back. She had a bit of a meltdown that Mommy was leaving, so I explained that we were wrapping some of her Christmas presents. I told her that she couldn't see because they were surprises for her. That worked!! She was happy and I headed downstairs. After AG and I finished wrapping her gifts, AG brought them up and placed them under the tree. Before we knew it, Mei Li was under the tree and grabbed the biggest of her presents. In one swift rip, she had half of the wrap off. We all screamed, "Noooooooooooooo!!!!!" And, Mei Li looked up confused. We told her that the presents were to be opened on Christmas, not today. She grinned really big and said, "Mama, I see it!!! I see it!! I see it!!!!" And, I said, "Baby, you can't have the present tonight. You will get to open it on Christmas". She grunted in frustration and repeated, "I see it!! I see it!!" I picked her up and asked her, "Mei Li, what did you see?" She said, "Toe-fah" (which means hair in Mandarin) "I see it!!! Toe-fah!!! Looooong toe-fah!!! Pretty!!!!!" Then, I asked her, "What do you think it is?" And, she stated, matter-of-a-factly, "Wah wah" (which means doll in Mandarin). And, she hmphed in frustration that she couldn't open it. Then, she said, "Mama, presents. . . Mei Li... happy".

OH BOY. . . I am giddy with excitement. Mommy can't wait until Christmas morning, this year!!!

The second magical moment went like this. . . Daddy was heading down to the mailbox this evening to check the mail. Mei Li ran to the door exclaiming that she wanted to go with Daddy. He went and grabbed her jacket and carried her down the hill to the mailbox. As they got to the curb, Mei Li looked up at the house and said, "Daddy, Mei Li da home" (that means Mei Li's home). Geoff said, "Yes, Mei Li, this is your home." Then, she said, "Faygeelah!!! Hen dah, hen dah faygeelah!!!" (which means airplane. Very big, very big airplane). And, Geoff said, "Yes, Mei Li, you rode on a big airplane from China to come to your home in America. Then, Geoff asked her, "Mei Li, do you miss China?" Mei Li quickly and firmly responded, "No! Mei Li boo yaw China. Wo yaw home." ( Mei Li doesn't want China. I want home.)

Mei Li warms our hearts every day and fills us with such incredible joy. Geoff and I aren't exchanging gifts this year. We would rather make sure the girls have a special Christmas. And, we both agree. We already have our Christmas present. A little angel on Earth, named Mei Li, is our most precious Christmas gift, this year. . . and for every Christmas from now on. Geoff and I are incredibly thankful for our two most precious Christmas gifts. . . our Anna Grace and Mei Li.

Wishing you all a beautiful Christmas!

Mei Li has her MRI!

2011-12-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

Heading out at 7:15 a.m. for her MRI of her spine. Got her Santa hat and her ever-ready smile!

Mei Li was THRILLED when Santa paid her a visit in the MRI waiting room!! She flew off of my lap, sprinted to get her Santa hat out of the wagon and nearly tackled Santa as she ran to him waving her Santa hat! Then she gave him one of her famous Mei Li hugs! :) Children's Hospital does an AMAZING job making their children feel special and happy. So glad Mei Li can get her medical needs met at a wonderful hospital like Children's!

Mei Li's favorite treat is a good sucker! She is a sucker for suckers!! She also has taken a BIG shine to Santa. So, when we found this Santa sucker in the gift shop, we knew it had to be her treat for being such a trooper. She LOVED it! :)

Still groggy from the anesthesia, Mei Li got to get her picture taken with Santa before we left.

Resting her sleepy head on Daddy's shoulder. . . our Christmas angel. . . She truly is a Christmas miracle. She is our gift this Christmas.

Today was a big day for Mei Li, and it went smoother than I ever could have hoped. We felt the prayers of family and friends with us today! Mei Li had her MRI on her spine. They had to put her to sleep for this procedure. The last surgery, when they put her to sleep, she was sick the entire rest of the day. Thankfully, they only used gas for this test, and she suffered "no" sickness!! :)

Today's test will give Dr. Blount the information he needs to make a game plan for Mei Li's spinal surgery. They took images of the fatty tumor in her lower back to see how and where it attaches to her spinal cord. We have no news on the test yet, but we hope to learn something tomorrow.

On the 28th, Mei Li will have a test to measure the functionality of her bladder. Dr. Blount ordered both of these tests to be done before he operates on Mei Li's spine.

Mei Li was very brave today, as always. The hardest part for her was "not eating". She ate around 8:00 Sunday night, and she was not allowed to eat again until after the test, which was noon on Monday. She could not drink anything either. But, like everything in her life, she took it all in stride. And, most of the time, she had a smile that would make everyone who passed by her do a double-take and turn around to talk with her. Her bravery and hope and determination and overcoming spirit inspires me every day. . . and challenges me to take notes from a little 4 year old girl and strive to do half as well :).

Once she got to Children's, she was in for some exciting surprises. Santa came to visit her right before she went back for her test!! That was an exciting moment for Mei Li, for sure!!

The testing and her recovery took just about 1 hour. And, we greeted her when she awoke with a big green Santa sucker! Her eyes lit up immediately. That was all it took. . . seeing Mama and Daddy and a big green Santa sucker. . . to bring her out of the fog of anesthesia!! Haha!! She said she was hungry, so we took her to Surin (a wonderful Thai restaurant. . . and Mama's favorite!!) and ordered her Coconut soup and dumplings. She ate every bite!! For her, it was a taste of home and good ol' comfort food.

She is down for the night, and has been her sweet, mischievous happy little self all afternoon! :) We pray for a good report from Dr. Blount tomorrow.

Good night! And, I'll update again as soon as we know something more.

Thanks for following!! And, thank you for your prayers for our little Mei Li!

Deck the Halls with MRIs, orthopedic visits and urologist appointments.

2011-12-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Our hearts are bursting with joy and thankfulness this Christmas. We have been waiting for so long for our baby girl to come home to us, and finally we can celebrate this beautiful season as a family of 4. Our Mei Li will be enjoying Christmas for the very first time, this year. She has quickly learned who Santa is. I don't know if she understands the "present" thing. But, she calls Santa "Ho, ho, ho!!" Today, Anna Grace and Mei Li had their picture taken with Santa. Mei Li literally climbed down out of my arms and sprinted down the red carpet to Santa! She climbed right up on his lap and put her fingers in his snowy white beard! I got it on video. You can see it in my video feed at the top.

More importantly, Mei Li is showing all of us the true meaning of Christmas. Besides knowing that Christmas is the day we celebrate Jesus' birthday, she loves her family so dearly. She doesn't have an extensive list of wishes and wants for mom and dad and Santa. Instead, she talks about how much she loves her family. She will say, "My mom, my dad, my sister. . . my family". That is what means the most to her. We tend to take family for granted. . . just a given. But, for a little girl who has lived all of her 4 years in an institution without the love of a mother and father, she does "not" take the love of her family for granted. She cherishes it. . . more than any new toy or gadget. She is a breath of fresh air for all of us. And, her beautiful spirit and clear perspective is teaching us all to look at the world and all the blessings the Lord has given us with a new set of eyes.

Mei Li loves to sing and her favorite song is "Jesus Loves Me". She is precious to watch and listen to when she launches into this song. You can see the video in the feed at the top right.

Monday, Mei Li has her MRI of her total spine. She will be put under for this procedure. And the results will determine Dr. Blount's game plan for surgery for Mei Li. Also, on Dec 28th, Mei Li goes in for a test on her bladder to determine its level of funtion. We know that she is 100% continent at this point. But, with her special need, incontinence is very common. And, Dr. Blount needs to establish a baseline. I'm not sure if she will be put under anesthesia for this test, but I am guessing she will. The results of these two tests are important for determining our plan of action for Mei Li and her surgery on her spine.

Today, we took Mei Li in for a follow-up with Dr. Khoury. Her foot has been hot and swollen for several days and she has been running about 100 degree temp in the evenings the last 4 nights. Dr. Khoury did lab work on her and x-rayed her foot. It appears she has a small stress fracture on her toe. Bless her heart. Her bone density is compromised due to her lack of walking, but she needs to walk in order to build her bone density.

Even though there are so many Dr. appointments and tests, we are incredibly thankful to have our precious daughter home. And, we are thankful we have the medical team available to take care of her needs. Her future is bright, now. And, our family's future is brighter than ever because she is now a part of us. :)

Merry Christmas to you all!! I'll update when I have more news.

Christmas Caroling, Birthday Wishes and Mei Li WALKS! :)

2011-12-11T11:21:00.000-08:00

AG and her good friend. . . ready for a night of caroling!

Mama and Mei Li come along to help support!!

Singing songs of Christmas. . .

One of the beautiful homes made a great backdrop for our group photo!

Another Gigi group shot. . .

Hot cocoa after a night of caroling puts a smile on Mei Li's sweet face! ;)

AG helps Mei Li try her hand at ping pong. :)

Our 1980's wall mirror serves as a great artist's pallet! The girls LOVE drawing on it with dry erase markers!

It's present time!!!

My birthday girl :)

Mei Li is having a BLAST at Big Sis's birthday party!

The prettiest ornaments don't hang on trees ;)

Time to blow out the candles and make a wish

Look who followed me upstairs to put Mei Li to bed!! Mei Li loved the attention. . . Guess who didn't want to go to sleep!? ;)

Getting ready for Wii Dance party!

OH YES. . . and we built foam Santa's workshops, gingerbread houses and a sleigh!

AG has some of the sweetest friends!! :)

Getting their "dance" on!

Love this shot! Dance queen! :)

Break dancin'

The worm!!

AG just hangin' around :)

Daddy surprised the girls with "Hot Nows" from Krispy Kreme for breakfast. . . served with hot cocoa :)

Closing out a swell birthday party with a tasty doughnut breakfast! :)

We have had quite an eventful week at the White house!! Anna Grace turned 9 years old this week!!! I can't believe my little AG is NOT little any more. This is her last year in single digits. :( We had a birthday party to throw together and I had a LOT to get prepared before having anyone come over to my house!! Especially, since AG requested a small sleep over. Oh my!! Since coming home from China, I have spent my time and energy taking care of Mei Li, running back and forth to Dr. appts and surgeries and check-ups, and homeschooling Anna Grace. Lots of "house-keeping" details happen "when I can get to them", but that is not often enough ;). There is only one of me, and I do all I can to address the "most important" things first. Haha!!! So, last Saturday, I spent the day trimming the bushes in the front of our house!! You can actually "SEE" the house now!! ;) And, as the week has progressed, I've gotten carpets steam-cleaned and other house-beautifying details addessed. Whew!!! Just in time for the sleepover on Friday night. I told AG it HAD to be small, this year. No more than 5 girls. Mama needed a manageable group. And, I told her to carefully choose 5 girls who will enjoy one-another's company for an entire night!! Tricky business!! ;) These girls will have to get along well for 12-15 hours. AG has lots of wonderful friends in different places. . . the theatre, from school, from horseback riding. She wasn't able to invite everyone she wanted to. So, she picked a few that knew each other well for our "pilot group". Did I mention this was our "first" sleepover??

Drum roll. . . . It went so well, that we will do more. AG had a blast and the girls had a wonderful time! Next time, we'll pull in folks we weren't able to this first go-round. Now that mama knows what she's doing ;)

In other important news. . . and I'll leave you with this. . . Mei Li got her cast removed on Wednesday and the 5" pin removed from her heel. She got her nighttime brace to wear and we are still awaiting her smaller daytime brace which we will get this coming Wednesday. The daytime brace will protect her foot and keep it positioned properly while she walks. But, an amazing moment happened yesterday. I took her brace off and asked her if she could stand. She stood right up, put her weight equally on both feet and grinned a mile across!! Then, before I could grab hold of her or instruct her on the finer points of taking her first steps. . . .she was off like a bullet!! She took off walking and she hasn't stopped since! I caught some of these first steps on video and you can see it in my video feed at the top right.

I was invited to come perform my original song, "Snowflake Lullaby" (that I wrote for Anna Grace and recorded on my album, "Dancin' on the Wind") at Local Color Cafe's Christmas Show last night. Geoff, AG and Mei Li came out to support mom. It went great! Even though their CD player wouldn't work with my accompaniment track, and I ended up doing the entire song acapella!!! Haha!!! (that's called "rollin' with it!!! ;) Everyone seemed to enjoy the song, and I have been invited to come back to perform an entire show in March!! What an honor! This was Mei Li's first music venue, and her first time to see mama perform. She was PERFECT!! She enjoyed the music all night, and was thrilled when mama got up to sing. And, during the intermission, she got up out of her seat and went from table to table greeting the guests and telling them her name is "Mei Li"!! Truth be told. . . Mei Li was a highlight of the night! She walked everywhere. . .she made friends with every person she met. . . and she wouldn't let mama or dad pick her up. So proud to be walking. . . and correctly. . . for the first time!!!

AG did her best to hold her head up during the show, but she was suffering from a bad case of "stayed up all night last night" itis. Haha!!! She had a ball at her birthday sleepover, but it left her hurting the next night when mama had to perform.

I hope you enjoy the pics and Mei Li's video!! Thanks for following along our journey!! And, I hope each of you is having a wonderful Christmas season!! I know that we surely are. Little miracles every day. . . and reminders about the true meaning of this wonderful season. :)

Thanksgiving Memories

2011-11-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Mommy's sweet angel AG

Mommy's sweet angel Mei Li :)

Traveling home. . . got her bag, her doll and her chocolate. She's ready to roll!!

Yaya's 2 best girls. . . who are "not" ready to leave to travel back home! ;)

AG and Mei Li live it up in Uncle Ken and Aunt Beth's hot tub! Mei Li may not be able to put her whole body in, but it doesn't stop her from fully enjoying taking it as far as she can!! :)

Mei Li loving on her Yaya! :)

Aunt Beth and Mei Li "cheesing" for the camera ;)

Mei Li is not sure what to thing about this big "dog" ;) Her first experience meeting a cow!

But Uncle Ken is keeping her safe!

That's my girl!! On second thought, why not??? She reached right out and petted it right on its fuzzy top knot!! ;)

Totally enamored with her Uncle Ken, she delights in showing him a twig she found on the ground! I love to see her light up over the little things most of us walk by without a second thought.

Family photo. . . and AG and Mei Li stealing the show . . . with the beautiful Smokey Mountains in the background. Such a beautiful place!!

Feels good taking a family photo with the four of us!

Ice cream dreams!!

Sweet angel with almond eyes. . . How we adore you!

She is "ham and cheese" all the way!! ;)

Big sis got Mei Li a balloon at the restaurant. . . because that's what "big sisters" do!!

Yaya, Aunt Beth, Geoff and AG. . . 3 generations of Whites :)

It's hard to believe all that transpired in the month of November!! I've already blogged on Mei Li's casting and her surgery on her foot. . . as well as the visit with the neurosurgeon. So, I won't rehash all of those details. And, that lead us right up to Thanksgiving, where we traveled to Asheville, NC to visit Geoff's family. They were able to come down for a short weekend at the time of Mei Li's surgery, but thankfully, we were able to spend several days over Thanksgiving up in the mountains with them for us to have more quality time to spend. It was 4 days packed with great food and wonderful company. And, I do believe that Mei Li succeeded on a grand scale in wrapping each one of the family members securely around her tiny finger!! As Yaya so eloquently put it, "It would be impossible to "not" love Mei Li. She is sunshine on a cloudy day!" And, I don't think there are better words to describe her!

And, AG had a blast. She got to spend the night with Aunt Beth and Uncle Ken. And, she had some great one-on-one time with her Yaya (and AG cherishes every moment with her!)

Mei Li has only one more week to go with her cast. Then, OFF it comes! After that, she will be able to walk with a brace on her leg. Hoping she will have good strength in that leg once the cast comes off so she will be able to walk on it. It has been 9 weeks of casting that hasn't allowed her to walk. She will have to rebuild her muscle tone in that leg, for sure.

For now, I am trying very hard to keep her big toe from getting banged-up any worse. She doesn't have any feeling in that foot and she knocks the mess out of that toe when she crawls. She has even lost her toenail. I am cleaning it daily, putting antibiotic ointment on it and wrapping her like a mummy with gauze and paper tape. . . then applying two thick socks over the top. Can't wait for that cast to come off!

We just learned today that Mei Li's MRI of her spine will be be on Dec. 19th. We are eager to get that done and know the results. . . and then figure out the game plan from there.

I hope each of you had a beautiful Thanksgiving as well. We are cherishing every moment with our two girls. . . and we catch our breath over the thought of the incredible gift Mei Li is to our family. And, AG is such a wonderful big sister. . . it is a joy to watch her falling deeper in love every day with this person who was a dream in her heart for so long. Wow. . . never in a million years. . . we are most definitely counting our blessings!

Consult with the Neurosurgeon

2011-11-21T12:54:00.000-08:00

Today was an important "next step" for addressing Mei Li's medical needs. We met with Dr. Blount (a wonderful and highly respected neurosurgeon) at Children's South. It was just a consult, and he spent a great deal of time talking with me about Mei Li's meningocele, what it "is", how it affects her (now and down the road), and how he proposes moving forward. It was an educational session. And, from today's visit we know that Mei Li will next need 2 tests to establish baselines. . . an MRI (which we already knew about) and one that will test the functionality of her bladder. I forget the name of that test. Once we have these tests, Dr. Blount will move forward with surgery. . . most likely after the new year.

What was explained in today's visit is that a meningocele is in the spina bifida family, although it is more minor. It is a fatty tumor that affects the spinal neural tube. The tumor, itself, is not harmful in any way to Mei Li. It is "fat" like what we have when we consume too many calories. Although Mei Li's has nothing to do with caloric intake. It is the result of a defect of the closing of the neural tube that happened before birth. And, the body's response was to make this little fat pocket. What is concerning about it is the fibrous tissue that binds the tumor together. He described it working kind of like the plastic mesh that is around a turkey that you buy at the store. This "mesh", however is throughout the fatty tumor and serves to bind the tumor to the spinal chord. As Mei Li grows, slowly but surely, the spinal neural chord moves upward in the torso and the "mesh-like fibers" pull on the spinal chord and very probably will cause "tethering" of the spine. This could cause paralysis and incontinence.

As of now, Mei Li is able to walk and use her legs (although she shows no signs of feeling in her left foot). She is also completely continent and totally potty-trained. She is happy and bright and full of life and vigor. (Just take a look at the most recent videos I took of her playing with her new kitchen set to see this vigor in full-force ;) Dr. Blount tells me he wants to "keep" her that way. If we leave the tumor "as it is", and "hope" for the best, there is a "high" probability that she will experience significant neurological issues in the long-run as her body grows. He told us that "if" she had been left in China and had not received medical treatment, she would have "more than likely" grown into an adult who would have been paralyzed below the waist; and incontinence and loss of bowel control would have been a very probable outcome in her teen and adult years.

However, doing surgery also has its risks--(although only 15% compared to 65% or higher if we leave the meningocele alone). The surgery could also cause neurological issues. That is a risk we will have to take if we hope to keep this tumor from negatively affecting Mei Li down the road as she continues to grow.

Dr. Blount's plan is to carefully disconnect the fatty tumor and unwrap it from the spinal chord. Once it is disconnected, it will not pull on the spinal chord and cause tethering as she grows. His two main objectives for this surgery will be to "disconnect" the tumor from the spinal chord and keep spinal fluid from leaking. Whether he takes the fatty tumor out, leaves it where it is, or removes part of it will be something he decides after he reviews her MRI and knows more about what will be most beneficial for Mei Li. He said that sometimes the fatty tumor actually "helps" keep spinal fluid from leaking. He will have to make that call as he knows more about the tumor and how and where it is attached.

So, up next is an MRI. The nurse will call me to let me know when it is scheduled. And, a test will be set up to measure the functionality of Mei Li's bladder and establish a baseline for her. Both of these tests will require sedation (whether partial or complete). Then, we will meet with Dr. Blount again to discuss his plan for surgery.

Please continue to keep our Mei Li in your prayers. And, if you would, please pray for Dr. Blount and his staff as he makes decisions regarding our sweet girl. We know we are in excellent hands with him. And, though there are risks both ways, it isn't even a thought in our minds to leave that tumor as it is. We already know she has no feeling in her left foot, and she has begun complaining of pain at the site of the tumor. With the high likelihood of severe neurological problems down the road in store for our Mei Li if we do "nothing", we would rather take a smaller risk by choosing to have the surgery.

This one is a biggee. . . and it is never a small matter when you have to do surgery on the spine. But, Geoff and I also know that the same God who suspended the universe in space knows every single cell in Mei Li's body. And, there are no surprises to Him. And, I place Mei Li and the entire medical staff in the palm of His hand as we walk the road to helping our little girl. We greatly appreciate your prayers as well.

Happy Thanksgiving week to you all! Thanks for following along! And, I'll update again as soon as we learn more.

Hidden Treasure

2011-11-18T06:31:00.000-08:00

Our sweet and priceless treasure. . . Mei Li :)

I have no idea who really reads our blog unless they post comments, but my hope is that through telling our story we not only use our blog as a way to update our friends and family of our personal journey. . . But, that it also serves as a place for other adoptive families (or soon to be :) to find encouragement, helpful information and inspiration.

People come to adopt from different places. . . for many, infertility is a part of their journey, desperation, heartbreak, loss, a calling. . . For us, we struggled with disappointment with not getting pregnant again after our first daughter. But, I can honestly say that we were not desperate. Disappointed is a better word to describe where we were 4 years ago. But, I was ready to pursue my music, and we were "about" ready to take the next step in our personal and professional lives. . . and just were thankful for the wonderful child God had already given us. For us, adoption was not "our only hope" to fill a void in our family and hearts with a child. It was not about us doing something to meet "our" need. It was our response to God's call on our family. Although, many people come to adopt a child from different "emotional and personal" places. . . and one "place" is not better than another as long as homeless children and loving families are brought together. . . our story is one of submitting to God, hearing His voice, and responding in faith. And, now that our Mei Li is here. . . we find that our family is "greatly blessed" by her being one of us. We are all the better for her presence in our lives and family. We say our "thanks" every single day for her. And, we can not imagine our family without her! And, that's just the truth! :)

Many people believe that the only people who adopt are the wealthy. And, I can attest that that assumption is not true. We are a very middle class family that clips coupons and cuts corners to get the bills paid each month. But, adoption, (unfortunately), is a costly process. It is . . . and that is the frustrating truth. My hope is that "the cost" of the adoption process will be brought down to make adoption more accessible to loving families in the future. People with more resources may find the adoption process easier, in that the financial burden of it is not an issue. But, many people of varying financial means find ways to make it happen. And, I say that to encourage those who may think adoption is impossible due to its cost. It frustrates me when uninformed people ask "how much did your child cost?" Although, I understand that they mean no harm and are "really" asking how much the process costs. But, the process. . . and every person involved in the process of bringing a child together with his/her family has to be paid for the job they do. So, what does it cost?? A ballpark figure for the cost of an international adoption starts around 20-25K. It goes up from there depending on the country and how many international trips you are required to make to complete the adoption process. To put that figure in terms most of us can really wrap our brains around. . . it is about the same financial investment as when you purchase a new car. NOT to say that "a car" and a living, breathing child are anywhere near the same in value. And, the beauty of investing in the life of a child. . . is that "many" lives are forever changed (including yours :), and a "child" never depreciates in value! :)

So, how does an average person afford the process of adoption? I strongly encourage adoptive families to apply for grants, do creative fundraisers, yard sales, trim their budgets to cut out"extras" and put that money into an adoption fund. There are always ways to help meet the financial burden. And, we honestly should have done "more" of that looking back. Besides these, there are always loans. But, I recommend working hard to raise the funds and apply for grants before you go into debt. Not only will you have the cost of the adoption process, but if you adopt a child with medical special needs, there will be medical co-pays and bills that will be a reality once you get home. So, do not be ashamed to apply for grants or do fundraisers on the front-end. These can serve to greatly ease the financial burden that will fall on the family once you're home with your precious child and the bills start coming in and surgeries are on the calendar. These options that are "available" with some sweat and hard work make "adoption" a reachable possibility for many more loving and deserving families. . . and the lives of many more children will be changed forever as a result. And, that is WORTH IT!! :)

Today, I was having my quiet time and reading scripture. I came upon Matthew 13: 44-45, the parable of "Hidden Treasure and the Pearl". It says, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Again, the kindgom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. Wen he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it."

What a "treasure" we now have in our Mei Li. She is more valuable to us than gold or jewels. And, the sacrifices that we had to make to bring her to us were absolutely worth it. . . and we are all "the better" because of her. And, all who meet our Mei Li would, undoubtedly, agree.

Taking it "one day at a time". . . all in stride. :)

2011-11-15T20:54:00.000-08:00

Mei Li's surgery on her little ankle was last Friday. And, as usual, she has amazed us with her resilience and "roll-with-the-punches" spirit. She hardly complained at all after her surgery. We kept expecting the pain meds to wear off and the pain to hit! It just never happened. The day of surgery, we were sent home at lunch time. She was very groggy and nauseous. She couldn't keep down anything she tried to eat. And, we stuck to liquids only. It all came back up. She slept most of the afternoon, and at bedtime she slept all night long. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, she was back to about 85% normal spirit and the twinkle in her eyes was back!! She did complain very mildly of pain in her leg. This child rarely complains of any kind of pain, so I take it seriously when she tells me something hurts---and I KNEW she should be hurting after that surgery. I was prepared to deal with the problem of "lots of pain". But, it turned out, the problem lay with "how little" she complained of pain. And, every time I tried to get her to wiggle her toes, she couldn't do it. And, every time I would tickle her toes or pinch them. . . or even hold an ice cube on them. . . she had no idea I was doing anything to her unless she saw me do it. So. . . our Mei Li has no feeling in her little foot. And. . . she has begun to touch her lower back where the fatty tumor is and say, "Ow!!" She has never complained of it hurting her before. But, for the last 3 days, she has told me that it hurts. . . not her leg. I'm just not sure what to make of it. I am definitely concerned. I took her back in to the orthopedic surgeon for a recheck. He took her cast off and examined her. The surgical site looks great, the blood flow is perfectly fine, her foot is warm. . . He suggested that it "might" be the meningocele on her back causing neuropathy in her foot. We don't see the neurosurgeon until Monday, and I am very eager to have his assessment of our little Mei Li.

In the meantime, we are enjoying every minute with both of our girls. My mother said it best. "Mei Li has a way of making herself "at home" wherever she is. And, she has a way of making everyone around her smile". She is truly a ray of sunshine. And, that is true even with all the doctor appointments, specialist appointments, castings and surgery. She takes everything in stride, rolls with it, adjusts herself to each new hurdle that comes along. . . and keeps going!!! With a smile and a giggle, I might add. Such a victorious spirit! If it is true that angels walk this earth, and sometimes humans are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend to one, then I am convinced Mei Li has wings hidden somewhere. She teaches all of us something new every day.

I am trying to learn from Mei Li's approach to life, and take everything "in stride". One step at a time. God has a big plan for Mei Li's life. Or, He wouldn't have gone to such lengths to connect her to a family an entire world away. And, although I want to be sure we do "everything in our power" to provide her with the medical care she needs to make her body healthy and whole, I am trying not to panic when things don't go just right. When a new obstacle pops up in our path, just like our Mei Li works around and overcome every obstacle that she encounters, we will take a minute, assess our options. . . and make a new game plan. Regardless of whether the feeling returns to her foot or not. . . Mei Li's life and health has changed "for the better" now that she has the love of her forever family, her new home in America and a team of doctors and specialists tending to her medical needs.

Please continue to lift her up in your prayers. And, thank you for following!

More Steps to Success!

2011-11-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

Mei Li taking a wagon ride to the car after her surgery. That green popsicle was like a security blanket. She didn't care to eat much of it, but wanted to "hold" it. :)

Sleeping peacefully in her own bed after her surgery and wearing her Bravery Bracelet that her Mama B gave her.

Friday, 11-11-2011, was a big day for our Mei Li. Dr. Khorey operated on her Achilles Tendon and removed old scar tissue from her little ankle. Her little foot popped perfectly into place, and is now casted for 4 weeks while it heals. Then, our Mei Li will be in day and night braces for about 1 month. After that. . . our little girl should be able to walk "normally"!!!!

Mei Li did beautifully the day of the surgery. She was NOT happy being at the hospital, and the nurses and docs that entered her room wearing scrubs before the procedure were not warmly welcomed by her. She has had experiences in hospitals in China earlier in her life, and something tells me they were not ones that left good impressions. . . especially given our Mei Li's good nature and propensity for loving everyone she meets. She clearly does "not" love people wearing hospital fatigues. . . with one exception. . . her Daddy!! :) They gave her Versed to relax her and make her "not care". But, when it was time for the nurse to wheel her down the hall to surgery, Versed or no Versed. . . she was crying for Mama. I wanted to be with her so badly. You see, our Mei Li was abandoned in a children's hospital waiting room in Shanghai. We went to her "finding spot" while we were in China. It was not a nice hospital like the ones we have here. It made me very sad to think she was left there. . . But, I admire her birth mother for having the courage and the wisdom to take her to a place where she would surely be found and have an opportunity to get her medical needs met. I applaud her for taking the chance of getting caught in an effort to give her daughter a "chance" for hope and a future. I wish her birth mother could know that she is in America, is deeply loved by her forever family and is having her medical needs taken care of. I'm sure she must go to bed at night wondering if her baby girl she left in that cold, gray waiting room ever found a family? Ever received medical attention for her little turned-in foot? Or, for the fatty tumor on her spine? Is she happy? Is she healthy? Is she loved by someone? Does she have a good future ahead of her? I wish Mei Li's birth mom could know that the answer to each one of those questions is an emphatic "YES"!! There is no way for her to ever know that on this earth, since there are no records of birth parents for children abandoned. So, I will pray that Mei Li's birth mom will know in her heart and have a peace that only the Holy Spirit can provide to give her the assurance that she did the "right thing" for her baby girl 4 years ago in that Shanghai hospital.

In the meantime, we have one big surgery down!! And, Dr. Khorey seemed very pleased with how it went. Mei Li still does not have feeling in her toes at this point, but they gave her a nerve block in her ankle for her surgery. So, we believe that is why she is not showing signs of "feeling" yet. In the next day, she should be able to wiggle her toes and "feel" again.

On the 21st, we have an appointment with the neurosurgeon to assess the meningocele on her lower back. I have a suspicion that there will be another surgery and hospital stay required for that. I dread her having to experience another hospital visit, but I am so thankful we live in a place where Mei Li can get primo medical care and have her needs met by such amazing doctors. She is a resilient little girl, and she'll make it through.

And, coming out on the other side of the surgeries. . . Mei Li's life will be forever changed!! And, as for her future?. . . the sky is the limit!!

What I'm Thankful For. . .

2011-11-09T04:34:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking much, lately, about all I have to be "thankful" for. The Lord has carried our family through the most amazing journey of our lives, and it continues to grow better every day. Now, I'm not saying that it is never "tough". . . but, I am saying that it is always "Great" and absolutely "worth it"!! Our family and our hearts have been richly blessed by our Mei Li----and I am thankful for the family that we now are because she is with us. But, there is more to it. And, I want to share. :)

I am thankful for disappointment. There were many years of disappointment in our adoption journey. There were SO many delays along the way. There were changed courses. We started our paperwork in fall of 2007 with our hearts set on China (healthy child adoption). After learning how "incredibly long" the wait would be (4-5 years), we changed to Taiwan. Taiwan seemed to promise a much shorter wait, a younger child, foster care situation (better. . . ). So, we had our social worker write up all of our homestudy material in winter of 2008 for Taiwan (last second. . . instead of China). By the time all "t's" were crossed and our homestudy was approved through all the government offices, it was September 2008. And, we finally went on the waitlist in Taiwan. We sat on that waitlist for 2 grueling years. The program turned out to "not" be what we had hoped. It fizzled, the agency handling that program dropped the ball and there was no communication. . . and we sat in a adoption desert wasteland of silence for 2 years. There were many times, I wondered if I had mis-heard God's voice during that period. But, I knew I had not. I HAD HEARD His call on our family so clearly. . . and it had been confirmed. So why this dead-end?

It was during this 2 years that I began recording my album, "Dancin' on the Wind" of jazz standards. And, it was during these 2 years that God showed me that I was a song writer. My jazz album wasn't completed before there were 4 original songs that God had given me over the course of the recording journey. The Lord knows how much music means to me. It is my passion and my love--and during this adoption desert--He gave me the desires of my heart, in a BIG way--with music. I would never have had the time or opportunity to discover I was a song writer and embrace my music in the way that unfolded if our adoption had moved faster. As a result of that 2 year adoption barren wasteland, "Dancin' on the Wind" was born, and the Lord gave me my lifelong heart's desire in the way of music. I am forever thankful that He loves me enough to give me a gift that I didn't even know to ask for.

Two days before the "birth" of my album on September 14, 2010, we had a meeting with our social worker, at her suggestion, to talk with her about China Special Needs adoption. She felt badly that our journey was taking so long. . . and all of our homestudy and medicals were expiring and were going to have to be redone. So, she asked us to pray about it and come in to learn about the SN program in China. We met with her on the 14th of September. Before we left her office, we already had our hearts open to SN adoption (something that we had shied away from early on in the process). . . and right before we walked out the door to pray "some more" about whether to change to China SN, she brought out Mei Li's file to show us an example of what a medical file looked like on a China SN adoption. She told us that she was not pushing this particular child on us. . . she knew we were thinking of adopting a younger child. But, that she "was" available if we were interested. We saw her face and Geoff and I both caught our breath at the same moment. We knew we were looking at the face of our daughter. There was Mei Li, and we "knew" it!

September 16th 2010 became an incredible day for me personally, and for our family. Two days after our meeting with Karla, and after seeing the face of that sweet angel, Sun Xianmei, in the medical file, and "the very same day of the birth of my album", we received a call from Dr. Jennifer Chambers from UAB's International Adoption Clinic to review Mei Li's medical. Her overall assessment. . . GO GET THIS BABY GIRL!!!!! So, two hours before the "birth" of my album, we experienced the "birth" of our daughter as well. I will tell you that when I arrived to Moonlight on the Mountain that evening to hold my album release, there was a sweetness in the air unlike any I had ever experienced before. But, amazingly, it is a sweetness I now experience regularly. . . The birth of two beautiful blessings in our lives. . . all at the same time!

So, for those of you experiencing difficult times in your adoption journey. Delays, derailments, broken hearts, frustrations. . . We" TOO" experienced all of those things, but the end result was something so perfect and timed "JUST SO". And, looking back, God's hand was in control of every step. If anything had gone differently, we would not have been matched with "this" little angel we call our daughter. And, the thought of that is something I can't consider for even one second! God was preparing us for our Mei Li (who was not eligible for adoption when we began our journey). He was preparing our hearts to take a leap of faith and go the route of a SN adoption (and we needed some work on us, first, to bring our hearts in agreement there). He was planning to complete a beautiful work in me through music. And, the timing of the birth of the album and the birth of our daughter "into our lives" happening on the very same day CAN NOT BE a coincidence. Just further evidence that the Lord was in charge of it all. :)

September 19, 2011 is a day our family will never forget. It is the day Mei Li was placed in our arms for the first time!! After beginning our adoption paperwork in September of 2007, it took us 4 years to arrive to this amazing day. I still sit here pinching myself, hoping that I will never awake from this beautiful dream. Mei Li has blessed our lives in such a rich way. I thank God every day that He did not give in to my pleas and cries and complaints during the 4 years we waited for our daughter. If He had listened to me, we would have missed out on one of the the greatest blessings we have ever known. . . the honor of becoming a family to our little Mei Li.

Halloween Fun!!! And, other news ;)

2011-11-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

My beautiful Juliet and precious ladybug

The White Family of 4 beside the Great Pumpkin!!

Such a lovely Juliet. . . her choice of costume!! Love it!!

Just us girls :)

Mama and her little ladybug :)

Daddy and his girls

Haha!! Love Daddy's expression!! Long trudge up a hill to this house!

Pumpkin fun!

The expression says it all. . .

Just love their smiles :)

No words. . . :)

My sweet AG

Well, our little Mei Li is doing "picture perfect". And, Anna Grace is every bit the amazing sister I ever dreamed she would be!! She is growing up right before our very eyes. And, her love for her little sister is not only beautiful on "her", but it is beautiful on Mei Li too. This little girl is blossoming and thriving in the love she is being given. Every day is a new adventure for this little one. . . and she is really taking to her new family like a duck to water. We are enjoying every little thing about our Miss Mei Li!!! Her little foot is responding beautifully to serial casting. She has one more cast to go on Monday. If you were to see her now, it actually looks strange because they are purposely "over-correcting" her foot so that it actually turns outward. It was curved inward dramatically when they started, and by overcorrecting, they are training those bones and ligaments and tendons to have a normal range of motion. On November the 11th (11/11/2011. . . Haha!!! I think that is good luck!! ;), she will have an outpatient procedure done at Children's Hospital to stretch her Achilles tendon. This is necessary to release to allow proper range of motion in her little foot. She will then be casted for a full 4 weeks, with a pin in her heel. Once they remove the 4-week cast, she will then wear day and night braces for 1 month. SO, by mid-January, our little Mei Li should be walking with a normal gait. Hallelujah!!! That is a miracle considering where she started. . . and only in 3 months' time!! If you didn't see her walk before this casting, take a look at her "Fay-gee-luh" video and watch her walk. Her outer left ankle was the bottom of her foot. We are thrilled!!!! And, we love Dr. Khorey!!!

Also, Mei Li has an appointment with the neurosurgeon on November 21 to assess the meningocele (fatty tumor) on her spine. It has not, at least yet, caused paralysis or incontinence, but the placement of it is concerning. And, it is quite large. I am very eager to have Dr. Blount take care of it. If it is continuing to grow, it could be extremely problematic. Please keep that in your prayers, if you would. But, we are thankful we have Dr. Blount!! We hear he is amazing, and we have been placed in phenomenal hands with every specialist who has cared for our daughter. I have no doubt that Dr. Blount will know exactly what our little Mei Li needs.

Halloween was so much fun for the girls. . . I struggled through because I was sick. But, even sick, it was impossible to not enjoy the evening watching both of them have such a wonderful time!! Anna Grace was a absolutely lovely Juliet and Mei Li was the cutest little ladybug you ever laid eyes on! :) Anna Grace taught Mei Li how to say Trick-or-Treat!!! And, she mastered it quickly!! AG decided her sister was like a little "jack-pot" saying "Trick-or-Treat" with her little Asian accent and her cute little costume. I think she was right! The candy poured in to them all evening!! :) Anna Grace is such a great sister, too. There were a few houses that had really steep hills or were too scary to take Mei Li up to the door. . . so Anna Grace would, all on her own accord, ask the people nicely if she could take a piece of candy to her little sister. She definitely dotes on her little sis!! And, Mei Li loves her right back. :)

Life is good!! Things are beginning to settle in. Anna Grace's homeschool is getting back into a stride (although days with Dr. appointments make it more difficult. ) We are so glad we started homeschooling at the end of June because we have needed this past month to catch our breath and learn a "new normal"---and with the onslaught of Dr. appointments. . . there hasn't been a real "normal" yet. Today, AG finished all of her work by noon!!! We were all dressed and showered and even met daddy for lunch. . . and now both girls are upstairs playing dolls together. . . or as Mei Li calls them "Wah-wahs. . . that is Mandarin for dolls" :) This is exactly why we decided to homeschool AG this year!!! She can focus and get her school done before lunch, and have time to bond with her sister in the afternoon. That would be much tougher to do if she was gone by 7 in the morning and home after 4. . . then, homework, dinner and bedtime. It is really important to us that AG and her sister have this time to bond and truly come to love one-another. And, it is a precious thing to see it happen!!! :)

But, I will admit. . . my time is not my own so much anymore. And, I have missed songwriting and singing. There is a season for everything, however. . . and this is a very precious one. All in due time. . . :) I believe the time to write will come again. And, maybe it will be even better than before.

Enough of my rambles. . . I hope you enjoy our fun Halloween pics! :)

Some Things I've learned. . . and am learning about adoption

2011-10-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm learning new things from our little Mei Li every day. She is such a joy! And, one thing that I am coming to realize, is that mothering the adopted child is a bit different (in some areas) than mothering the biological child. I remember hearing some wonderful advice and scientific research presented to Geoff and me early on in our adoption journey by Dr. Jennifer Chambers at The International Adoption Clinic here in Birmingham. What I am witnessing, now, first hand. . . is that what she shared with us is true. And, I'll share it with you.

There's more to write about than I have space to write, but I'll focus in on a couple of bits of information that are especially interesting, or have really proven true for our journey with Mei Li. Maybe it will help others of you who are home with your little ones. . . trying to navigate through uncharted waters without the advice of a pediatrician who is an expert in adopted children.

First of all, attachment and bonding is the first order of business with your adopted child. And, it is not as simple as it sounds. With an adopted child (especially ones who have grown up for months or years in an orphanage. . . or for those who have experienced incredible trauma of one kind or another), the synapses in the brain that begin connecting at birth and thrive with the love and nurture of a mama and daddy. . . that connect and make pathways and lay a foundation for all learning and ability to intake the world around them. . . these synapses are not fully formed/connected in a child who has not received the love and nurture of a mother and father from birth. (Of course, this will vary by degrees depending on each child and his/her individual prior experiences.) I remember Dr. Chambers actually showing images of the brain synapses of a biological child at birth, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. . . and then her showing the images of a child who was in an orphanage during the same timeframes. The differences in these pictures were astounding!! Babies' brains truly need love and nurture to grow and for those little synapses and wires inside to develop.

We were told that there were things we needed to do "differently" with our adopted daughter to insure her the best possible outcome. . . to stimulate her brain, allow these synapses to connect and for her to flourish with our love and nurture in the first months that she comes home.

First of all, it was recommended that we not expose her to lots of people at first. That is a TOUGH thing for all of our close friends and family who love us and want to love on our little girl. It is truly difficult for people to understand, since it is completely fine for a newborn biological baby to be around other people. There are a number of reasons why we were given this advice. The most important, perhaps, is that our daughter has never known a "mommy" or a "daddy". She only knows life inside an orphanage, with rotating caretakers. She may have had some caretakers that she liked more than others. I believe there was one, in particular, our Mei Li attached herself to. She calls her "orphan mommy". Note the term "mommy" used by Mei Li. But, our Mei Li has never had a true reference for what a "real mommy" is. She needs to be taught. Not just an intellectual knowledge. . . a definition of "mommy" she has learned from books or songs. But, she needs to experience the one-on-one love and nurture of her "real-live-mommy". This means, that for the first few months, I need to be the one tending to all of Mei Li's needs (as much as humanly possible). I need to feed her, bathe her, sing her to sleep every night, kiss her boo-boos, be there when she is afraid or sad and hold her in my arms when she needs reassurance. No one else (besides daddy) needs to fulfill these duties for the first few months. . . or as long as it takes to teach her/show her what and WHO "mommy" is. This rule applies for whomever the primary caretaker is. If daddy is the one staying home every day, then daddy would need to be the one to be in this role even more than mommy for the first few months. This is very demanding on the primary caretaker, but so important.

It is difficult for friends and family to understand that you are not being overly protective or "acting strange" when you are having to limit your child's time with people the first few months. Now, I don't mean that you hole yourself up and never leave your house. :) But, I do mean that we have been told that no one else needs to babysit, feed, nurture, soothe, meet the emotional and physical needs of your newly adopted child (or even hold the child for more than a moment). This is specifically the job of mom and dad for the first 3-4 months. . . or as long as it takes for your child to completely attach to you. Remember, she is having to learn that you are not just another orphanage caretaker/nanny who works a shift and leaves, maybe for a day or longer. That is the only reference many of these children have ever known.

Our social worker, International Adoption Clinic pediatricians and adoption family therapists have explained that it is critical that the mom and dad be "the constant caretakers" in our daughter's life for the first few months. Otherwise, if other friends/family and caretakers are caring for them, meeting their physical and emotional needs, loving on them. . . you can "very easily" have your child attach to one of these precious friends or family members instead of "you". Obviously, this is dangerous and unhealthy for your child and for your family. The most important foundation to lay. . . is an understanding of your child's "family" and exactly who fulfills the role of "mommy" and "daddy". Be careful that your child does not connect with another person in that way. This attachment is the foundation for a healthy family life for your child and for your family.

To quick-check how your child is doing in the attachment department, ask yourself, "Does my child ever reach for anyone else besides mom or dad for comfort or help?" If they prefer to be in someone else's arms rather than yours when they need consoling or affection, then you need to be aware and make necessary adjustments.

Mei Li is such a bright and vibrant little girl who is eager "to learn" and "do" and "experience life". We are very blessed with this precious child! But, as smart and lively as she is, we are having to remember to lay a foundation with her. She is learning, for the first time, what "family" truly means from first-hand experience. And, even though it is apparent to us that someone in that orphanage took time to love and nurture her, she still is having to have new groundwork laid in her little brain as her world is unfolding to her for the first time.

I am just thankful that Geoff and I, as well as Big Sis, Anna Grace, are lucky enough to be the ones she is experiencing this new world with. . . and that we are fortunate enough that God chose us to be her family!

My hope is that this post will help other adoptive families who have recently, are soon to be bringing their child home. And, that it may help explain some of the ways we are having to do things in these early months for our own friends and family. SO, sweet friends and family. . . if it seems we have disappeared and dropped off the face of the earth . . . WE HAVEN'T!!!! :D We promise! We'll be back in the saddle again soon. And, we LOVE you and appreciate the outpouring of love you have shown us since our return. . . more than you will ever know!! :)

And, just to be clear. . . I realize there are many adoptive families who may not have a choice but to have other caretakers care for their children when they come home and "have" to return to work soon thereafter. Please know that I am not criticizing you. These are tough times we live in, and people must do what they must do. Hopefully, this information will help you, too, to recognize if any of these behaviors are beginning to show. . . and you can take quick action to help your little one. :)

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

2011-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

It was a fun afternoon hunting Mei Li's very first pumpkin! And, oh boy was she excited! I got it on video and will upload it in a bit. Keep an eye out for the video on the upper right part of our screen. We are starting out Mei Li's first American holiday weekend with a pumpkin patch adventure! Enjoy!!

This Week in Pictures!

2011-10-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

This was our first time to be "Boo'd"! And, Mei Li was thrilled!! Some kind mystery phantom stopped by our house and rang our doorbell!!! We answered to find a bucket full of special treats :) Mei Li loved the candy treasures---but the bucket was cool too!!

Fun with the bucket! Such a silly girl. :) Everything is new to our Mei Li, and Halloween is going to be a THRILL!!

I'm just in love with this happy, sweet and beautiful girl!! She is sporting her new "Halloween" cast.

My little "Peek-a-boo Panda Bear" Mei Li

Next time, I'll have some great shots of both girls in their Halloween costumes. I didn't get many great shots of my sweet Anna Grace this week. Poor thing has been sick and not up for cheesing for the camera. Stay tuned, though!!

We went to Dr. Khourey on Monday for Mei Li's 3rd cast (she gets a new one each week). He is so pleased with the progress of her foot, that he believes we will only need to do 2 more castings. If all goes as planned with those 2 castings, then more-than-likely she will need to have an "achilles lengthening" in her foot. He says it is not a big deal and is an out-patient procedure. She will then be casted for about 4 weeks. After that cast comes off, she will have day and night braces to use for about a month. And, she should be in good shape by the first of the year!!

We also have an appointment with the neurosurgeon to check the fatty tumor on her lower back. That is coming up in November. She will have to have an MRI of her spine.

Our sweet Mei Li is such a trooper!! She is taking all of these Dr. appointments in great stride--not complaining at all. I'm so proud of this little girl!! And, I'm so very thankful that she rolls with things so easily. Such an amazing spirit!!!

Thanks for following!!

MaoMing boys are needing their forever families SOON!

2011-10-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

I normally am updating about our sweet Mei Li, and she is doing great!! I will write a post very soon about all of her latest developments.

But, today I am advocating for some little boys from MaoMing , Guangdong, China, who desperately need to find their forever families. Lifeline Children's Services is requiring families who are already "logged in" to step up to adopt "these particular children". They only have access to their files for a limited time. And, time is running out. They have some precious boys on their "B" list who are still waiting for their families to find them. Please check out the following site:

http://lifelineadoption.org/adoption/international/china/maoming-kids/

You can contact Lifeline to get more information on these children. And, please keep each one of these sweet ones in your prayers.

Thanks!!

Kristy

Mei Li Continues to Blossom. . . and a very sweet moment

2011-10-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

I keep pinching myself to be sure I am not dreaming. But, amazingly, I am completely awake. And, Mei Li is not a dream. She is as real and as warm and as loving and as silly and as mischievous and as comical as any little girl could ever be. She is absolutely making herself "at home" in our family. The last 2 1/2 weeks since she has been with us in the U.S. have held almost "all" brand new experiences for her, and she is living life and loving every moment of every new experience she encounters. She has such a hunger for living!! And, after spending the last 4 years inside an orphanage, Mei Li expects to go in the car out into the world to explore every single day. I get the "steering wheel" gesture each morning no later than 10 o'clock. And, if I don't respond to her request in a timely fashion, she makes it quite clear that she is not pleased. The difficulty lies in the fact that I am also homeschooling Anna Grace this year. So, I have to tell Mei Li that we cannot "go" until I help AG with her school work. It is a 3-ring circus around here most days before noon. Mei Li is very action-packed. She doesn't sit still for very long. She is the busiest little person I've met in a while. She is not a tv-watcher. . . definitely not a couch potato. She will sit and listen to music for a long time. . . however, not quietly. No. . . not Mei Li. If there is music, then there shall be singing! And, speaking of music, this little girl LOVES to sit at the piano and play and sing her heart out! I caught one of her performances on video, and you can see it in the upper right corner of the blog. I have a strong suspicion that a musical future is in store for our Mei Li. She has an unusual love for music---it is almost like she "needs" it. It calms her and thrills her and she never tires of listening to it or of sitting at the piano and giving impromptu concerts. I am very excited to see what happens with our Mei Li and her love of music! We have already been blessed with Anna Grace who also loves music and is doing wonderfully with her piano lessons. Her piano teacher, Mama B, has already told us that Anna Grace holds great talent at the keys. And, for those of you who know me and my love for music. . . you know that makes mama very happy!!

In other news, Mei Li's foot is responding very well to the cast. Dr. Khourey was surprised when he removed the cast to see how much her wound had healed and equally surprised to see how much the position of her foot had improved in only 1 week in the cast!! He did say that we should expect to have an achilles tendon lengthening procedure done, but he said it is not a big deal and is an out-patient procedure. But, he also said that given how well her foot had responded with only 1 week in the cast, there is a chance that we may not have to do that procedure at all. She already had the lengthening done once while she was in China. So, we are hopeful and thankful that it is working so well. And, Mei Li handles wearing the cast just like she does everything else that comes her way. . . like a champ!! She doesn't let it hold her back at all. That's my girl!!

Finally, a very sweet moment tonight at bedtime. I always lie with her until she falls asleep. I sing to her and pat her back. Usually, she rolls over and passes out after a long stint of being silly and flipping and flopping. But, tonight, she rolled toward me and she reached over and took my hand and pulled it up to her cheek. . . and then she kissed it. And, then she crawled over to me and gave me a kiss on my face. And, then she crawled back to her spot and put her head down on her pillow, took both of my hands and held them against her chest. Then, she fell asleep. Have I mentioned that I am in love with this precious girl? Well, I am. :)

I'm about to be very honest about some questions that spun around inside my head in the months leading up to meeting our daughter. Before we met our Mei Li, I often wondered if she would feel like my daughter right away? Or, would it take time for her to feel like she is my daughter? I knew I would love her, because I already loved her. But, loving someone you have never seen before. . . who you dream about. . . who you spend years imagining what they will be like and creating that person in your heart and mind. Would I love her like I dreamed about right away? Or, would that take time to build? Would she love me like I dreamed about? Or, would she have to grow to see me and love me as her mommy? Would it feel like we were family? Or, would it feel like I was babysitting someone for a time. . . until we weren't strangers anymore and developed a connection? I knew that there was a chance all of these questions could be answered with either a yes or a no. And, for many adoptive families, these questions have varied answers. I prayed that God would give my heart the ability to love her "as my daughter" from the moment she was placed in our arms. That she would feel "like my daughter" from the first moment, and that the love that I would feel for her and that would flow from me would be a pure "mother's love". I wanted Mei Li to feel that pure love from me from the start, and know that her new mommy loved her with a mother's love. I also prayed that Mei Li's heart would be prepared to love us as her family from the beginning. I am overwhelmed and incredibly thankful to share with you that my prayers have been answered. I look into the eyes of our Mei Li, and I see my daughter whom I love completely. She doesn't feel like a stranger that I am getting to know. It doesn't feel like I am babysitting. Mei Li is my baby girl, and she feels like nothing less than my daughter. What a gift that is! Thank you, Lord, for that gift!

A Tale of Two Princesses

2011-10-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

There once was a princess

Fair as could be

Hair like gold

Eyes blue as the sea.

Anna Grace, she was called

and was loved by many.

Her kingdom was a fine

and happy place to be

Almost nearly perfect

As could be.

But, somewhere far

From across the sea,

a song was sung

and sent on a breeze.

It found her heart

and planted its seed.

And, the princess knew

Part of her was missing.

In a land far away

In a kingdom by the sea

A Shanghai princess lived

By the name of Mei Li.

She was cared for by the angels

without a royal family.

With a rosebud smile

and brown, almond eyes,

she sang a song of hope

and lifted it to the skies.

A loving God looked down

from heaven above

on the two princesses

who needed someone to love.

He took the song

and carried it on a breeze.

And, it crossed the continents

and the mighty seas.

And, knit their hearts

in the notes so sweet.

The years passed by

And, the song played on

in both girls' hearts

on two sides of the globe.

Until heaven moved earth

And the strings

that bound their hearts

closed the gap of the seas.

Now, two princesses

fair as can be

One with eyes of blue

the other-mahogany

step across the divide

of the mighty sea

and embrace each other's hearts

Bound tightly. . .

by a song so sweet

and carried on a breeze

And, now forever more, they are. . . .

Family.

Some Pics from our last few days in Hong Kong

2011-10-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

Mei Li and Mama's Starbucks cup

Just the two of us (for a second!! ;)--after awaking at 4:45 a.m.

Sisters!! Coffee and fay-gee-luhs!

No, she's not a "ham" at all! ;)

Cheese!

Top of Victoria's Peak--not such a pretty day.

View from the top of Victoria's Peak (with a typhoon off the coast)

All smiles and ready to ride the ferry

The ferry to take us across Hong Kong Harbor

AG and her LIV dolls--posed for action on the train ride to Hong Kong!

Glimpses out the train window

Mommy and queasy Mei Li (and coy little AG!! ;)

View from the train window

Interesting house we saw on the way to Hong Kong

Just us girls, "hangin'" on the train!

No words. . . :)

Sisters hanging out, watching Tom and Jerry

Mei Li is loving her big sis!!

AG "sleeping" and Mei Li??? Pretending ;)

Sunday Morning (6 days home), drinking coffee, reading the paper, and hanging out with daddy while mama cooks some breakfast. . . or as Mei Li calls it (Chir-fan-fan)

Life is. . . . GOOD!! :)

Tomorrow will mark "1 week HOME with Mei Li", and she is doing absolutely beautifully!! This little trooper has had so much "new" thrown at her this week, and she has taken everything in stride. I can't get over how we "fit" one another so perfectly. She is happy and full of spice---this little one loves being the center of attention. She enjoys meeting people and putting on a show. She loves food!!! and has tried American, Italian and Mexican!! She is willing to give everything a try, although her favorite is Chinese, go figure!! ;) And, day by day, it is becoming very clear that Mei Li LOVES music!!! She enjoys singing, dancing to music. . . and today we made our first introduction of church to Mei Li. I took her down to the choir room to meet our music minister, and the first thing she saw was the piano!! She pointed and asked daddy to take her to it. She sat on the bench and began to play notes. She didn't bang the keys. She played them. She sat there playing until we told her it was time to go!! God surely is the Master Planner---and pairing us with Mei Li is no exception. I can't wait to see what Mei Li grows to become. She is such a magnificent little girl.

So many times, people look at Geoff and me and tell us that Mei Li is "a lucky little girl". Well, I have to say, in all honesty, we count ourselves "lucky" to have her be a part of our lives. She has already blessed our family in ways words don't adequately express. :)

Tomorrow is a big day for Miss Mei Li (and mommy!!). We go to the orthopedic surgeon to have her situation with her foot assessed. Surgery? No surgery? Casting? We will find out tomorrow. I'm so happy this little girl "rolls with the punches" as well as she does. It is a survival skill that has brought her a very long way. But, the next few months may test her skill in that department if we have surgeries in store. The bottom line, though. . . we want to correct her little foot and address what needs to be done to her spine to allow her the freedom to enjoy her life to the fullest. And, "enjoying life" is something our Mei Li does very well!! :)

As of the last two nights, Mei Li and her big sister, Anna Grace have slept upstairs in the big girl bed. Mei Li made it very clear to Geoff and me yesterday morning that she did NOT like her crib, (and as a result did not like her room ;). So, we took the crib apart and brought the "big girl bed" in to her room. She now loves her room, and is sleeping there for naps and night time with her sister. I, as a result, have had two nights of sleeping through the night! Just perfect!!

Geoff uploaded some new pics from Hong Kong. I hope you enjoy! And, I have some funny videos of our girl coming soon!!

Our 1st Appt. with the Rehab Dr.

2011-10-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we had our 1st of many appointments to assess Mei Li's spine and foot issues. Dr. Charlie Law, who specializes in rehabilitating children (and adults) with special orthopedic (spinal) needs, gave Mei Li a thorough check-up. He first noted that there appears to still be a fatty tumor on her spine and in the next couple of months, we will be scheduled with a neurologist for an MRI of her spine at the Spina Bifida clinic. The concern with this fatty tumor? Tethering of the spine--which could cause paralysis and incontinence. We definitely don't want that for our Mei Li, so we hope to get that MRI scheduled as quickly as possible.

Secondly, he took a look at her little foot. Although there is a scar from a previous surgery done on her Achilles tendon while in China, they did not do anything more to correct the club foot. As the foot is currently, Dr. Law says it will be very difficult to brace. It turns in too much and is not very flexible. He said that he guesses that surgery will be required to correct her foot. However, he said he would not expect them to do any kind of surgery to correct the clubbing of the foot until her wound is completely healed. It is a pressure ulcer, caused by the plastic orthosis. This orthosis is a generic one just pulled off the shelf. He said that for Mei Li (and her foot's position), she would have to have a custom-made orthosis. The one that they had for her did not fit her foot properly--and would certainly cause that kind of wound. Then, he removed some of the dead tissue on her wound so that it could breathe and have a chance to heal. A pressure ulcer will only heal if pressure is removed. Her walking on it causes pressure. And the dead tissue causes pressure. Basically, in a perfect world, she should not walk on it at all. Ha!!!! Try explaining that to my little live-wire, Mei Li! ;-) AND, she weighs 32 pounds---a SOLID 32 pounds. Mommy's back and arms are not strong enough to carry her everywhere. Whew!!

So, he scheduled us to have an appointment with Dr. Corey, an orthopedic surgeon, this coming Monday at 10 a.m. Dr. Law says that it is possible that Dr. Corey may want to cast her foot right now to make it impossible for her to walk--to allow that wound to heal. We shall see. We will also find out if Dr. Corey thinks surgery is required to correct her foot, OR if she will be able to be casted and corrected.

Mei Li is doing great in her new home, and it is obvious she loves her family. It goes without saying that we love her too!!! And, she did amazingly well at her first Dr. appointment. We were lucky enough to have Shyenti (our Mandarin teacher and dear friend) go with us to the appointment, so she was able to talk with Mei Li and explain (in her language) what was going on. I believe that made a world of difference in keeping Mei Li calm and happy. We are ever so thankful for our friend, Shyenti and her sweet family!!! Her friendship is only one of the many ways God has blessed us on this journey.

I know many of you have been wondering about Thursday's appointment, and I will update again once we have our meeting with the orthopedic surgeon on Monday!! Have a great weekend, everyone!!

Home with our Mei Li

2011-10-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Anna Grace (Jeh Jeh) and Mei Li (Mei Mei)

We have been home now for a full day with our Mei Li, and day 2 is looking great! The flight home went without a hitch, and Mei Li was a trooper!! The only drawback is that she was SO excited that she refused to sleep the entire 14 1/2 hour flight until the very last 30 minutes!! That made for a very exhausted Mei Li (and mom and dad!! ;) But, I'm telling you. . . this little girl was dancing around the airport pointing to planes out the window singing a song we made up about "fay-gee-luhs" (airplanes). It was funny to watch ! Geoff got video of this little dance, so be sure to enjoy it as much as we did! It should be appearing in the upper right window of "Our China Videos" as soon as YouTube processes it. Fingers crossed. ;)

We were awake for 31 hours straight from the time we awoke to get ready to catch our flight until we landed in Birmingham. We are still recovering from the jet lag. It is pretty wicked, right now. We try to catch a nap in the afternoon for an hour and a half and then go to bed at a good time in the evening to get back on a U.S. clock. Well, we find it is really difficult to take "only" an hour and a half nap in the afternoon (given that is night time in China). You tend to want to sleep all afternoon and into the night. And, when you go to bed at night, you only want to sleep a few hours. This morning, Mei Li awoke me at 3:23 ready to start her day! We listened to music, I taught her some new English words, we talked about her new pets (which have terrified her until today), and I told her about her doctor's appointment tomorrow to assess her foot and spine. It was fantastic bonding time, and I used my Jibbigo App. on my Iphone to tell her all of these things. She listened and nodded. I believe she understood the majority of what I was telling her. For my friends who are travelling overseas (to adopt or for business or pleasure), the Jibbigo App is a LIFESAVER!!! For $5, it is worth every penny.

Tomorrow, we take Mei Li to Dr. Charlie Law who is a specialist at the Spina Bifida clinic. He is amazing, from what we have been told. He specializes in both children and adults with special needs. We are eager to hear his assessment of Mei Li's back and her foot--and, he'll also let us know exactly what needs to be done for Mei Li's wound on her foot. Before we can correct her turned-in foot, we'll have to get that wound healed. It is a nasty pressure ulcer caused by the orthosis that was ordered for her foot in China. I have been very worried about this wound, as it is like NOTHING I've ever seen before. But, Geoff tells me he has seen this kind of wound in the hospital. It literally is a hole in her foot. The first time I saw it, I gasped. We've been cleaning it daily and using Neosporin ointment on it until we could get to a specialist in the States. I have been so worried infection would set in and cause bigger problems. Let's pray tomorrow will bring good news for her healing and recovery!! :)

(2 SWEET STORIES TO SHARE) :

The night we arrived in Birmingham with Mei Li (after 31 hours of no sleep), my family met us at the airport. Aunt Emmalie and Uncle Scott had a big bag of brand new clothes for Mei Li and pretty hair bows. Mom and Miss Kitty (our dear family friend) had a couple of dolls for Mei Li. It was like Christmas for her!! Of course, Mei Li has never experienced Christmas or a birthday or being showered with presents in any way. This was "HER MOMENT" that she had waited 4 1/2 years to experience. Little Ramsey (my precious niece) was so excited about Mei Li's clothes that she kept pulling them out of the bag for Mei Li to see. Her mama told her to stop and let Mei Li open her gifts. Ramsey got her feelings hurt and went to grandma's lap and cried. Immediately, Mei Li looks up from her gift bag and locks eyes on Ramsey. She drops her presents and walks over to Ramsey. . . wraps her arms around her and kisses her on the cheek. I still tear-up every time I think about this little girl who has never had any material things, dropping her treasure bag to run comfort someone she sees is sad. How about that? I think we could all learn a little lesson about life from this little one!! I know I am :).

Another sweet moment? Tonight, she was sitting at the table eating some Wonton Soup and some dumplings her daddy brought to her from the Chinese restaurant. She's happily stuffing her little mouth, and I'm at the refrigerator pouring some milk and I hear her say, "Womun jiah. Womun jiah". . . translated (Our home. Our home) . I sure do hope our Mei Li loves her new home. We are so happy she is with us!!

New pics coming soon!! Thanks for following :)

So Long Hong Kong, So Long China

2011-10-02T03:20:00.001-07:00

We took the train to Hong Kong yesterday from Guabgzhou. It was a beautiful ride through the country very spacious (we even had a little table where we could play cards). After 36 hours in HK, we are absolutely ready to come home though. It has been an amazing 3 weeks in China that will stay in our hearts and minds for the rest of our lives, but we couldn't be more eager to see U.S. soil!!! I just may make a scene at the Detroit airport and get on my hands and knees and kiss the ground. ;o)

Hong Kong has been an interesting stop on our journey, but after a 3 week tour of mainland China, and a little person who is brand new to our family, I would forego the Hong Kong stop if I were to do this again. The weather here has been less than ideal (typhoons off the coast), and it is confusing to get around if you're a newbie. To get where we need to go, there are subways and ferries and trams and taxis, and it seems there are at least 2 (if not more) transitions between different transportation modes for each trip out the door. To go to Victoria's Peak, we left at 10 a.m. and got back to our hotel at 4:00. Our day consisted of a taxi ride, a ferry ride, a bus ride, and a tram ride up to the peak. And, then the same thing back to the hotel. Masses of people everywhere! And, standing in line for the tram was pretty rough. The weather is steamy and the air was still and people were "wall to wall". It was hard to breathe. And, the line didn't move "at all" for probably at least 20 minutes. Anna Grace and I both began to feel dizzy standing in that mass of people. I'm sure it was a lack of O2 and all the carbon dioxide we were breathing in. Once we moved through, it got better.

I think Hong Kong most certainly has MUCH MORE to offer than we had the time or energy or resources to discover. If you choose to do Hong Kong, my suggestion is (especially if you have little ones who have bathroom emergencies or motion sickness), it is worth the extra dollars to pay for a taxi to get where you need to go instead of the "el cheapo" subway (which is much less $$, but if you are not familiar with subways and their system, can lead you on a wild goose chase and take MUCH longer to get where you need to go. . . and if you get lost, good luck finding someone who speaks English to help you). Without children, it probably is not so bad trying to figure out the subway. If you have a tour guide, I'm sure you will see and experience the very best of Hong Kong, with much less drama ;). And, if you can manage, try to go when there are no typhoons in the vicinity or it isn't a national holiday (this week second in folks traveling only to Chinese New Year we're told). This is the only city we haven't had a guide. And, I'm sure that's why we struggled more here.

Yesterday, after arriving in HK, we went (blindly and without a plan) out to find the Outback Steakhouse. Yes, I said Outback!!! ;) Haha!!! After 3 weeks in mainland China eating every form of Chinese food possible, a good steak from back home sounded like HEAVEN!!! In a city that has an Outback, surely it will be easy to find!!! HA!!!!

We decided to take the subway (how hard could that be?? Right???) Well, I'm sure all of my NYC and Chicago friends will laugh at us, but for those of us who don't use the subway regularly (or ever), it is a learned art form! :D And, we had to learn it on the spot where most everything was written in Chinese!!! So, we stood at the ticket machine trying to figure out how to purchase tickets for the 4 of us, and how much HK $$ for an embarrassing amount of time. Finally, we figured it out (after several attempts). Then, it was time to put our tickets in the turnstalls. I put mine and Mei Li's in and went through (with Mei Li in her stroller)---bad idea!! We got stuck in the turnstall. I'm horrified and embarrassed, and Geoff had to come around and help unstick us. ;) Haha!! Then, it was time to go down to the trains. The signs are in Chinese and there are two different tracks. Which way to get to the area of town we needed to get to??? Thankfully, a very nice Chinese man who spoke English helped us to know which train to take. We got on and rode a while, had to get on another subway to get to our destination. Then, the hike began to come up to street level and find the Outback. Masses and masses of people!!! We walk and walk and no Outback. We're looking at our map and trying to read street names and figure out where to go. And, between the crowds and our cluelessness about where we where, we were just wandering for a good little while. We asked several people for help, but no one seemed to know how to help us. And, apparently, Outback is not a place the Chinese people of Hong Kong frequent much!!! Go figure!! ;) Finally, we ended back up at the subway and went under the road to come back out the other side. The winds are HOWLING!! There has been a typhoon that has passed Hong Kong about 24 hours before we arrived, and another one off the coast. So, our hair is literally standing on end as we're walking the streets on our Outback quest. OH!!! And, along the way I get pooped on by a passing pigeon. Yes. . . I wasn't even aware of it until Anna Grace came up to me and rested her cheek on my arm and pulled away saying, "GROSS!! What is that on your arm?" Poor child put her face in bird poo!!!! Hahaha!!! After what seemed an eternity of walking, and howling winds, and bird poo. . . we FINALLY came to the Outback. Let me warn you, it is more expensive than in the U.S. The Victoria's Filet is about $28 U.S. dollars at this one (about $10 more than back home). But, as tired and exhausted and frustrated and STARVED as we were, it was the most delicious food we had tasted in weeks and worth the extra $$.

While we were eating our dinner and watching the trees bend sideways out the window in the gale-force winds, we made the decision to say "to heck with the subway!!" on the way back. We hailed a cab!! :) The cab driver was an interesting man, as soon as he began to speak, he reminded me of a cross between the laughing hyena from Lion King and a Chinese Jeff Goldbloom look-alike!!! He had very thick glasses, had bad acne scars and had a hard time reading the address of our hotel we handed him. He looked at it and said "Sorry, know little English...hahaheeheeheeheehee!". He was truly a character, and at first I thought, "What have we gotten ourselves into?? Is this guy going to get us back to the hotel?" But, he did!!!! And, he was a happy soul. . . and I was SOOOOO thankful for him and his cab!!

SO, the take-away for all of my friends to follow in our steps to Hong Kong:

1. In our opinion, the taxi is worth the extra money if you're a newbie to subways and if you are traveling with small children.

2. Hiring a tour guide OR travelling in a group will be less stressful and less confusing if you can manage

3. If you do venture out on your own, do some homework and have a plan before you just step out into Hong Kong! :)

4. Guangzhou is a "kid friendly" city with much to do with children. Hong Kong is a big city and doesn't seem to cater as much to little ones, at least where we went.

Okay. . . gotta get some mouths fed!! And pack for tomorrow morning's flight to the U.S!!! Woohoo!!!

China, you have been a beautiful blessing to our family and we have loved meeting you, but our own homeland is calling to us and awaits us. We are very ready to be back home again. :) Geoff said he hears Dr. Peppers calling his name.

Consulate Appointment and Guangzhou zoo!

2011-09-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

Well, today was a big day for Mei Li. . . and all of us! We went to the American Consulate this morning and applied for Mei Li's visa. We took our oath and now we should have her visa in our hands by tomorrow afternoon!! She will officially be an American Citizen!!! Hallelujah!!! And, that also means we are also coming home soon!!! Mei Li. . . to her new homeland and family!! :)

God's hand has been amazing and hard at work during this journey. So thankful that He brought us together. He loves all of His children. But, He has a special love for His little ones who are fatherless and motherless. We are thankful our Mei Li will be fatherless and motherless NO MORE!!! :) And, we are doubly thankful that WE are fortunate enough to be her father and mother.

In other news, we had a fun time at the Guangzhou Zoo yesterday with our group! Our agency has set us up with a China adoption liason and guide who are absolutely unbelievable. They walk us step by step through everything. And, they line up our agenda every day. We just show up in the lobby, and they take us to where we are scheduled to go. And, the other families in our group? They are super nice, and we've gotten to know many of them quite well. I have felt very safe and "taken-care-of" this entire trip. I'm thankful to Lifeline for doing such an amazing job on the China side of the adoption!!! So, here are a few memories from the Guangzhou Zoo!! :0)

The guide told us "no cold drinks" for Mei Li. Mei Li says, "Boo shir" to that!!! She wants to be Coke's new spokesperson!!! :) LOVES her icy cold "Kuhla"!!!

Monkey business

Panda Bath! This girl knows how to relax :)

Raspberry for us.

Staying cool in the shade

Mei Li spots the elephant!!

Anna Grace, zookeeper in the making!

AG feeding the giraffe. Get a load of that tongue!!

Mei Li getting ready to feed the giraffe

I believe this girl is a future veterinarian. She LOVES animals!

Hungry giraffes

Mei Li trying to determine if this "zoo thing" is good with her.

The Pearl River Cruise in pictures

2011-09-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, we had a wonderful time on the Pearl River Cruise. I had no idea how beautiful it would be. We almost considered skipping it!!! I'm so glad we didn't!!! It is one of my favorite memories!! Not the best food on the trip. . . but the view was worth it!! If you get the chance, be sure to go!! I do understand that not all boats are equal on this cruise, but we lucked up!! We got one that had a tremendous view, inside and out! One thing has become abundantly clear to me during this trip and on the cruise. . . the Chinese love to do spectacular things with with light!! What a treat for the eyes! Take a look!

Mei Li loved the noodles with green veggie. . . Kelp???

The Chinese know how to make an ordinary bridge beautiful. Bathe it in light!! That alternates in color!

Amazing open-air amphitheater

Another lit boat on the river

Enjoying the top deck! Mei Li? Not so much. She just tolerated it.

We call this the Star Trek bridge

One of many lit towers. The lights were constantly changing!! It was so beautiful to watch.

Guangzhou from the river

Massive screens at the amphitheater

Just look!!!

Look again!!!! :)

Love this photo!!!

Mei Li was happy when listening to mama's album on the iPhone. That kept her happy the whole cruise. So happy she loves my music!!!

AG and me :)

One Week with Mei Li-and Happy Times in Guangzhou

2011-09-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Girls!

The Garden Hotel

Carved gold ceiling in our hotel. This pic doesn't do it justice.

Staircase at The Garden Hotel

The girls

One of my faves :)

If only there were sound effects! Haha! Mei Li LOVES her Coke!!! She drinks and says, "AHHHHHH"

AG stealing Mom's Grande American lemon iced tea at Lucy's!

I took Mei Li to the potty and came back to find my tea GONE! :)

Oh, does Mei Li ever LOVE her "Baba"!!

Shamian Island

New shoes for Mei Li!

Mei Li in her full glory :)

"Big Sis" Anna Grace

Both of our China Princesses (Mei Li is hot and "over" the photo shoot ;)

Well, we have now passed the 1 week mark since Mei Li officially joined our family. She loves us and we love her. She is an amazing little person, and truly is a perfect fit for our family. And, I believe that we are also the perfect fit for her :) She has experienced a lifetime of new things in the past week, after spending the last 4 years inside orphanage walls. It's amazing how open she is to trying new things---and how happy she is almost all the time. I think we all could learn a lesson about life from Mei Li!! She is quite the charmer, and wins people over instantly with her electric personality.

That same dynamic personality can become quite explosive, at times, when things don't go her way. We are having to teach her boundaries--and she is not always as open to that. Her little fighting spirit (which has kept her so strong for all these years alone) also tends to butt heads with mom and dad when the answer is "no". :) I am confident that will get easier as the days go by.

We had a wonderful time on Shamian Island! We finished up some shopping, and Mei Li got some new squeaky shoes (the squeaks are removable, thankfully ;). She is SO proud of them. And, it seems her foot doesn't turn under as much when she wears them. She got a beautiful silk dress, too! And, Anna Grace got a gorgeous Asian doll. This is one that sits on a shelf as a momento. . . not a play toy. She is proud of her doll! She also got some beautiful silk slippers and a silk dress.

Mei Li and daddy are rolling in the floor laughing and playing right now!! Great bonding time. :) She LOVES her "Baba"!! She gets highly upset when he steps out of the room. I dread the day he goes to work. I have a feeling it's going to be bumpy for a while until she gets used to him leaving each day.

Anna Grace is such a big girl, and is helping so much with her sister! I am so proud of my sweet AG!! She adores her sister, and has grown up quite a bit in the last few days. Mei Li is still warming up to AG. Sometimes she is really receptive and warm. Sometimes not so much. But, AG is being so understanding. I am incredibly proud of her.

So, our family of 4 is coming along vey nicely :) We are learning and growing every day. Tomorrow is a new day, and we'll continue to gel as a family. I'm eager to get back home. It's been an amazing journey; but at the end of the day, there is truly no place like home. We have one week left. We'll be home next Monday. Seems so far away. . . In the meantime, I'm going to continue to soak in every moment.

Geoff is uploading some pics too! So, enjoy!!!

Today, We SHOP! And, a tip for families yet to travel.

2011-09-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

Good morning from Guangzhou!!! :) Today, our guides are taking us back to Shamian island for a bit of shopping at the markets. We have been told that you can get great things there for much less than anywhere else we have travelled in China. We were told, "Hold off on buying anything until Guangzhou!!" So, we plan to have fun with the girls today! No appointments, no paperwork, no doctors!!! :) Just fun! Can't wait! And, this place is gorgeous!! We walked through it yesterday to get to our appointment. There must have been 15 brides and grooms getting their photos shot at the same time!!! And, there was a movie being filmed there as well. We'll get pics!! :)

And, my tip??? For families getting ready to travel? If you have an Iphone, be sure to get the "Jibbigo" app. It is only like $5, and it has SAVED us in restaurants and other times we've been out and about and couldn't otherwise communicate. It translates your English question into Mandarin, and Mandarin into English!! And, it is wonderful. It has also helped us with Mei Li at times. We have taken Mandarin (focused on adoptive families), and much of what we learned from our Mandarin classes has helped us with Mei Li. But, there have been a few times, when we've needed to tell her something that wasn't covered in class. Jibbigo came to the rescue! It will be a life preserver you'll carry with you, that will save you when you run into communication barriers. And, it is amazing how that communication barrier makes even the most simple things. . . impossible.

So, get Jibbigo before you come to China!! :D

Off to check on my girls.

The Medical Exam. . .

2011-09-24T00:31:00.000-07:00

Well, today was our first day in Guangzhou. We have an incredible guide and China adoption coordinator walking us through. I don't think you can get any better than Rebecca and Lily. But, today was a necessary evil. . . the medical check-up. And, this week is a BUSY week for Guangzhou processing adoptions as they are trying to get families pushed through before the Chinese holiday coming up the first of October. So, what that amounted to was a packed waiting room of crying little ones. There was really no where to go to be private and wait your turn. We stood in line and waited our turn. You could see and hear the other little ones getting their check-ups. It's just the way it is. . . but, it makes it tough on the little ones. One gets scared and cries and the whole group joins in, and before you know it, you have a whole room of screaming babies. None of them were being hurt at all. They were just getting checked. But, most of these children have had hospital and doctor encounters before due to their special needs. So, they were terrified. It was hot and packed and very loud.

Mei Li was in a state! She cried and cried until she wore herself out while we waited in line, pointing to the door and begging to leave. What's insane was that she cried through the physical check-up and line wait. But, she didn't flinch when they gave her her TB skin test shot at the end of the visit.

One funny moment today, though. . . Mei Li informed me that she needed to "pee pee" while we were waiting for her Visa picture. So, I ask our guide to show me to the restroom. There are only Chinese potties in the restroom---no western toilets. If you don't know what a Chinese potty looks like, it is basically a hole in the floor with little places to put your feet on both sides. Geoff and I refer to the potty styles as "sitties" (Western style American potties) and "squatties" (Chinese potties) . Mama has not mastered (or even tried) the Chinese potty. And, I had my chance to try to help Mei Li use one today. Did not go well!! Haha!! First off, trying to get her feet placed properly (wide) with her pants on but pulled down far enough was an issue for me. Then, I'm holding her carefully over to let her go, and her little sunglasses (which I had carefullly tucked in my shirt) fell out and straight down the toilet. I gave up and went to get our Chinese guide to help us out. Whew!! I guess losing the sunglasses was better than dropping her in the potty. Hahaha!!! It was truly comical!

We have some wonderful days ahead and the hardest part was today! I'm happy that it is finished and Mei Li can smile and giggle for the rest of the trip. :)

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, We're safely in Guangzhou!!! :)

2011-09-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a long day of waiting and travel and it was "hot" everywhere we were. Just couldn't cool down. In China, it seems that air-conditioning is not embraced. So, most places have pretty warm, still air. And, when you're holding lots of luggage and a 30 pound baby. . . you FEEL it!! Haha!!!

So, our little Mei Li has conquered bus rides (and that is a HUGE accomplishment in China, let me tell you!! I've almost resorted to fetal position and thumb-sucking myself if I actually watch out the window!) Traffic is INSANE here in China! I consider myself a good driver, but there is NO WAY I'd get behind the wheel of a car in China. People just pull out in front of you, there's bumper to bumper traffic, there don't appear to be any lanes that anyone observes and there is no safe distance between cars. If someone wants over, they just come. And, if someone is there, they just come on top of you. There have to be inches between cars. I have thought we were going to be hit numerous times---but, somehow, it never happens. I have NO idea how there aren't wrecks all the time here, in China. But, I rarely see an accident. They must have incredible spacial awareness and hand-eye coordination skills here. We drive much more carefully in America, and yet, we have more wrecks. I'm at a loss. ;)

Anway, I got sidetracked. Mei Li has conquered bus rides, and plane rides, and our little girl LOVES to be on the GO!!! She is not one to sit still for long. She likes to ride in her stroller and see the world!! She will be an excellent candidate for a jogging stroller when I get home, and that will be great for mama too!! She is so open to new things. She couldn't wait to get on the plane (fay-gee-lah is the Chinese for airplane). All we heard yesterday leading up to our flight was "Fay-gee-lah!!!" and she would make an airplane noise and put her arms out like wings! :) Such a happy little soul!!!

Our guide in Shanghai described the cities we have visited in China this way. "Beijing is the "Ancient China Lady", Shanghai is the "Modern China lady", and Guangzhou is "the Girl Next Door". You will love Guangzhou!" Well, we go out for our first adventure today. Our main guide, Rebecca and the China coordinator, Lily, are here and have walked us step-by-step since we stepped off the plane. They are truly amazing!!!! I feel so at home with them and well taken-care-of. I've always felt more like "the-girl-next-door", myself. So, I have a feeling Guangzhou is going to be my favorite. Hands down, the Garden Hotel is a palace compared to everything we've stayed in up to now. Anna Grace says she never wants to leave. Mei Li did a happy dance all around our suite. And, did I mention that the air-conditioning works???? Hallelujah!!!!

All this to say, that this is the most incredible journey of our lives that God has taken us on. We learn new things every day about ourselves, our little girl and His incredible mercy and grace. I can now appreciate this beautiful country across the sea, and we are forever changed and better because of it. I am counting my blessings!

Memorable Moments in Shanghai!

2011-09-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

The Bund

Former Customs House modeled after Big Ben

Taking a stroll :) Mei Li LOVES to GO!!!

No explanation needed ;)

Jellies at the aquarium

People asking us about our Mei Li

Sisters

New Shanghai skyline (all new development since 1996)

Official Adoption Ceremony where we received Mei Li's certificate of adoption

The girls :)

All decked out in Aunt Emmalie's bows!!

Hi everyone!!! We are heading out to Guangzhou this afternoon, so we will officially be telling Shanghai goodbye. It has been fun, but we are ready to move on to GZ!! We hear it is the most fun part of the trip and is more kid-friendly. Mei Li is doing AMAZINGLY well!!! She sleeps well, she eats like a champ, she adores her big sis and her daddy, and she thinks her mommy hangs the moon. She is happy almost all the time---unless she doesn't get her way. Then, her little temper will flare. But, it is not long before the giggles and smiles are back.

Yesterday, we went to Mei Li's finding spot which was the waiting room at the Children's ER. I will not complain about American hospitals again. And, I am so very glad she will never have to be there again. So thankful she is with us now.

We will update again in GZ, but for now, here are some fun moments in Shanghai!!

Enjoy!!!

Heading out this morning!!

2011-09-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post this morning, because I left daddy upstairs with 2 sleeping girls to come down to the lobby to post. There is free internet down here. AG is cool with Mama leaving, but Mei Li is rather attached to me, and will not be happy if she awakes to Mama being gone. So this will be a quick one.

Today, we go to Mei Li's "finding spot". I look forward to seeing this place and piecing together the pictures of her story from the beginning. It will be a very quick visit, but an important one. We were denied the opportunity to go visit her orphanage. They are redecorating.

She is precious and she is a mess!!!! She is happy most all the time---except when she doesn't get her way. Then, she lets you know about it.

She is already learing SO much!!! And, she is adapting to us so very well!!! She went to sleep last night and cried very little--only about 5 minutes. And, that is a HUGE improvement. The first night was all night long. The second night, we tried to settle her down to sleep three different times before success and with about 30 minutes of crying each time. Last night, 5 minutes and she was "out"! ;) She is still asleep now. :)

Well, Mama better run! Don't want my girl to wake up and find me gone. We'll update again later!!!

Another Day with our Mei Li :)

2011-09-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

We had a tour today in Shanghai. We went to the famous Bund and it was amazing!! The city on one side of the river is Old Shanghai and the city on the other side of the river is the new Shanghai. It truly is a beautiful city!!

We went with another family and their little one, and after a short tour of the Bund, we made our way to the aquarium. The kiddos enjoyed it. Mei Li was a little afraid, at first, of all the fish behind glass. She has never seen anything outside of the walls of her orphanage, so she had to test things out and make sure it was all okay. It doesn't take her long, though. Mei Li is a very high-spirited, outgoing little soul. So, she was ready to run before long. I have to pull her back and hold her more than she would like. Although, I am thankful she reaches for mommy most of the time. She loves to be held by me. But, her little foot has a pretty bad wound on it that we are trying to get to heal, a pressure ulcer caused by her brace at the orphanage, and I let her walk very little. I'm so worried that her wound will get worse. Her little foot turns on its side when she walks (as she had surgery for a club foot a few years back) and she literally walks on her ankle. That is exactly where the wound is. Mei Li is a little firecracker who doesn't like to sit still for long. She is loving and lovable and loves to be held by mommy, but trying to keep her off her feet with her high energy is a full-time job. That is why my blog posts have been less since we got her. And, thankfully, we just got a stroller!!!! This little happy bundle we call Mei Li is pretty heavy in these arms unaccustomed to holding a little person!!! Haha!!! I will now have great biceps! And, as much as I'm running after her to keep up, this is best weight loss program on the market!!! :)

Have I mentioned how crazy we are about this precious little person??? She is so smart and so sweet and so full of mischief!!! She is sleeping well (although it takes her a while to go to sleep. That seems to be the time that she grieves for her friends and her nanny at the orphanage whom she calls "orphan mommy". She cries quietly for a while every time she lies down to sleep. I lie next to her and console her and tell her I love her, not to worry and that we will take very good care of her. After a little while, she cries it out and falls asleep.) Once she falls asleep, she sleeps all night. She loves to brush her teeth, take showers, she goes potty and tells me every time she needs to go. She truly is an amazing little girl!!! We love her very much!!! Oh, and have I mentioned Mei Li eats like a champ??? OH YES, she does!!!! :) She also loves her Big Sis, too!! She kisses her and shares her snacks!!

Anyway, I need to try to get little missy down for a nap so I gotta scoot!! But, just wanted to update and let you know how it goes!!! It goes GREAT!!!! :D

Mei Li is OURS and We are Hers!!!!! :)

2011-09-19T03:13:00.000-07:00

Mei Li and Mama

The girls snuggling and playing with sleep masks

Mama feeding Mei Li. . . Mmmmm. . . noodles!!!!

Waiting for our ride! Windy!!!!!

Baba, Jeh Jeh and Mei Li!!!!

A kiss for Baba!

Today has been the most amazing, blessed and awe inspired day of our whole journey to China, so far. . . and rightly so. Today, our beautiful little girl who was born in our hearts was finally placed in our arms. We were not sure what to expect. We are from the other side of the planet, we look different, smell different, and we certainly sound different from anything she has ever experienced. The orphanage has been her "home". The other children have been her family. The orphan mommy (nanny) has been her only mama she has known. There is no guessing how a child is going to respond to all of the trauma of this change.

We heard Mei Li before we saw her. Her vibrant, happy voice bounced down the hallway to greet us before we saw her little smiling face. Then, she appeared. As soon as she saw us, she yelled out, "Mama!!! Baba!!! Jeh Jeh!!!!". She came right to me, sat in my lap and kissed me on the cheek. She grabbed the Gerber Graduates and went to town eating. She drank her apple juice and was delighted that Minnie Mouse was on the cup. She was all smiles the entire time we were at the Civil Affairs Building. She told her orphan mommy "Tsai Chen" (goodbye), and we made our way to the van to go back to the hotel.

Since we have returned to the hotel, we have had a fashion show of all of the new outfits we brought for Mei Li. She would grab one and start stripping her clothes off. She has played, run around the room. . . she is a firecracker of energy!!! Mama is pretty worn out! :) But, in a GOOD way! She is SO happy. Her favorite item, it seems is her toothbrush, strangely enough. She has brushed her teeth so much, we had to hide the toothpaste. Haha!!! She eats like a CHAMP!!!! She has pee-peed in the potty about 5 times. She is an absolute angel!!! She calls to me when she needs anything. "Mama, gore lie!!" I have learned that phrase very well. It means "Mama, come here" . When Geoff and Anna Grace ran out to pick up a burger at the McDonalds, she immediately starting asking where they went. I took her to the window and she pointed out saying "Baba, Jeh Jeh.. . Gore lie!!!" (Daddy, Big Sis, come here!) :) She is already attaching to us and is understanding who her family is. Praise the Lord!!!!! That is HUGE!!!!!

We are praying we will get to visit the orphanage this week to see where Mei Li has spent the first 4 years of her life. There is no guarantee as of now. But, if overwhelms to to know that there are 150 million orphans (such as our precious Mei Li has been until today) in this world, and they all need "Mamas and Babas". It breaks my heart to think our sweet Mei Li could have grown up in an orphanage and never known a family. And, the outcomes for children who grow up in orphanages are heart-breaking. They are considered the "unlucky ones" in society, so for the chance to have a good education, or marry into a good family is slim to none. We may not be able to change the futures of all 150 million, but we can make a difference for at least one!! And, I'll let you in on a little secret. The "real blessing" is on "us". This little precious one has already blessed our hearts and changed our lives for the better---and I have had several conversations with the Lord today thanking Him for this incredible opportunity to love and be loved by this wonderful child!!! She is ours and we are hers. . . and we call her daughter.

Here are some pics for you to enjoy of our morning, and a video is on its way soon!!

Our Beijing Pizza Hut Experience

2011-09-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

Waiting on our food and our poor waiter in the background. :)

Our Seafood appetizer to accompany the Milk Tea

Tapioca pearls in the Milk Tea

Our Personal Pan Pizza for the family.

Our fruit juices that were OH so sweet!

I know we are already in Shanghai on this journey to our daughter, but I just have to share a funny experience we had in Beijing. One would think that going into a Pizza Hut and ordering a pizza and coke would be a simple experience, right??? Well, I wish there had been a video rolling of our Pizza Hut experience in Beijing. It is proof that even the most simple things become almost impossible with a language barrier!!!

We decided on our last day in Beijing to grab a pizza. So, Pizza Hut, it was!! We went in and sat down. The menu was all in Chinese, but they had pictures. And, pictures are a foreigner's best friend! We were limited to the options with pictures---and, we knew there was no way we could ask for something different. So, we found a picture that looked like something we might enjoy and went with it! Then, we pointed to Coke, and the waiter shook his head. "Kuhla out", he said. I then saw that they had the famous "Tapioca Milk Tea", so I pointed to that picture. The waiter shook his head again and pointed to his watch and held up 2 fingers. They didn't serve the milk tea until 2, and it was 20 'til. So, we scanned the various fruit juices for Plan C, and picked. Now. . . that was not "so" hard. The pizza came out, and it was just slightly larger than a personal pan pizza. I believe I may have laughed out loud. A personal pan pizza for a family of 3!!! :) Ah, what the heck! We made it work. . . and it was delicious!

Since we had fairly good luck with the pizza, and we were still a bit hungry, I got bold and decided to go for dessert and order that milk tea (since the 20 minutes had passed! ;). That was when the real fun began. The dessert was not problem. Point and order, plain and simple. But, when I pointed to the milk tea, the waiter hesitated and started speaking Chinese and flipping through the menu. He began pointing at various food items, and I pointed back to the picture of the tea and said that was all I wanted. He flipped back and spoke more Chinese. Geoff decided to help me out and pulled out his Iphone with his new Jibbigo App on it (that translates Chinese to English and vice versa and is voice sensitive). He held it up for the waiter to speak into and a look of shock and fear colored the waiter's face. He refused to speak into the phone. Geoff then began trying to explain that it was a translator. Then another waiter walked up to help out and see what the confusion was. Geoff was still trying to explain for them to speak into the phone, I was telling them just to forget the tea and get the dessert, and our poor waiter still looked like Geoff had asked him to disrobe and tap dance. It was at this moment that a wave of hysteria overtook me and I began to laugh and couldn't stop. Those poor guys probably thought I was laughing "at" them. I wasn't. I was just laughing at the insanity of the situation---one that should be so simple. It turned out, after a long game of charades, that you had to order an appetizer along with the milk tea. There were specific appetizer choices that accompanied it, but of course it was all in Chinese. So, I just pointed to different pictures until I landed on one that he shook his head "yes" to.

We finally got our order in and the food came out. It was good, but I'm not sure worth all the effort. Haha!!! The whole scene reminded me of something from Seinfeld. And, I'm still curious what the waiter thought Geoff was asking him to do with the phone! Ha!

And, so there you have it. . . the White's Pizza Hut Adventure in Beijing!!!

MORE GREAT NEWS!!!!

2011-09-16T03:03:00.000-07:00

I know that the blog updates have come in a flurry today, but there has been MUCH good news!!! Here's some more!!!

Okay, so since we've been in Beijing, I have not been able to access my primary email until today. When I finally got in, I saw a post from Angela with Ladybugs n' Love that she had new photos and an update on our sweet Mei Li!!! The pics are of her celebrating her homecoming with her friends in the orphanage with the cake we sent her. The smile on her face is priceless as are these photos capturing her moment of celebrating her new family!

Boy oh boy!!! We are ready to scoop this sweet angel up and bring her home! :)

Day 2 in Beijing--The Great Wall

2011-09-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we set out with Michael and Mr. Jin (our guide and driver) to hike a section of The Great Wall. Let me tell you. . . "hike" is definitely the right word. It turned out to be a straight-up-the-mountain climb!! Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We always fill up on a BIG breakfast here at the hotel. The food, here, is a buffet and is delicious and there is more of it than you can eat! We never know what lunch and dinner will be like, so we always make sure we have a great breakfast. We then, got in the car and headed to The Wall. The car drive, alone, is an adventure in itself. I find myself closing my eyes a lot. SO MUCH traffic!!! And, the idea of personal space and the 2 car-length safety distance that we use in the U.S. is NOT observed here in China. Haha!!! They drive right up and pull right over and I found myself feeling almost nausesous a few times when I thought we were about to wreck. But, Mr. Jin is a pro, here in China. And, we never crashed. Thank goodness!

Also, there are many, many people on bikes and scooters. . . entire families on scooters with little children and no helmets. They ride on the same roads with the jam-packed traffic and cars flying and all over the other cars. I sometimes have to close my eyes. But, it is a way of life for the people here. And, so far, I haven't seen one person on a bike get hit. Let's hope that track record will continue to stand!!

So, on our way to the Great Wall we find ourselves sitting in standstill traffic on the highway. Our guide told us that only a couple of months ago, that same highway had a traffic jam that lasted for 2 weeks!!!!! That was NOT what I needed to hear when we have an appointment to meet our little girl in a few days and have a flight to catch to Shanghai tomorrow. Thankfully, the traffic jam cleared up in about 30-45 minutes. And, we were on our way to the Wall. It was an older section of the wall, and our guide said was a less-crowded section. I would hate to see crowded if that was supposed to be "not crowded". I was surprised to see that The Great Wall in this section was basically a straight-up-the mountain hike, with uneven steps with different depths. Handrails were only on the right side and in some places there was no rail. It would not be out-of-the question for someone to fall off the wall. And, if you did, you would fall down the mountain. And a fall down the steps would be highly dangerous as well. We carefully stepped our way up, holding on to the rail for dear life. BUT, the view. . . the view was incredible!!!! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if there were no smog. It was difficult to see very far, and the view would have been heavenly if the air had been more clear. No complaints from me, though!! I'll take what I can get! And, I was in complete awe on The Great Wall. Geoff took some amazing photos. I hope you enjoy!!!

Tomorrow, we fly to Shanghai to be in our sweet daughter's province. And, we will meet our beautiful girl (and she will be added to our family) on Monday. It's called "Gotcha Day". That's not my favorite term, but it is the day we will become a family of 4!!!! So, we are celebrating our Family Day on the 19th!!! For our friends in the U.S. That will be Sunday night for you. We are a day ahead here. And, what a blessing. . . we were given a wonderful picture of our Mei Li that Lori (another adoptive mommy) took of her this week at the orphanage!!!!

So happy to see that smile! We hope she will smile like that when she meets us :) We will certainly be smiling!

So, until I have more to update, enjoy the pics! And, thanks for following our journey!

Beijing--the first stop on our China journey

2011-09-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

The past two days in Beijing have been unbelievable and overwhelming! What a beautiful country China is. The people are warm and welcoming. The Lord smiled on us in a big way when Michael showed up to take us from the airport to our hotel and he informed us that he was going to be our guide and take us all around Beijing privately. We told him we had signed up for the public bus tour, but he said that we had been upgraded. So, we have had private one-on-one guide service in Beijing. He took us to the Summer Palace first (which was beautiful). We were able to ride this dragon boat on the lake, and it was acres and acres of gardens. Then, he took us to the Temple of Heaven. Finally, we went to the Forbidden City. To see these places with my own eyes that I have only read about in books was incredible. It amazes me the work ethic, precision, back-breaking labor and dedication the Chinese display toward their beliefs and traditions. Every site we have visited has sent that message home to me more and more.

Today, we hiked a section of The Great Wall. It was exquisite!! I will write more about this later, however. Geoff has great pictures to upload and I'll do it all at once.

For some reason, my photos are not cooperating and uploading tonight. Geoff has taken so many great shots. I will have him work on it tomorrow. Stay tuned. . . much more coming soon!

Running in Circles!!! Preparation, preparation!!!!

2011-09-09T06:48:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that we actually board that big jet on Monday and fly to the other side of the earth!!!! After four years of dreaming and hoping, our little girl is soon to be placed in our arms! She won't be only held in our mind's eye and heart. We will be able to wrap our arms around her. She will be warm. She will laugh. She will cry. (hopefully, she will feel like smiling and laughing when she meets us :)

Up to this point, Mei Li has felt more like a dream to us. A very sweet dream that we pray will recur every night. We imagine her, what she is like. . . much like we do when we think about God and what heaven will be like.

But, that is soon to change for us. After 4 years of living in our hearts and minds, Mei Li is joining our family in the flesh. And, our actual journey begins Monday as we board that plane.

Thank you, Lord! Your promises are sweet and your mercies are new every single day.

We look forward to blogging while we are on our journey! We hope you will follow!!

NOW. . . I'm off!!!! Got to accomplish MUCH today! :)

HIP HIP HOORAY!!!!!! WE HAVE TA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-09-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!! After 4 LOOOOOONG years on this adoption road to Mei Li, we FINALLY have our TA!!!!!! We are going to CHINA!!!!! Next week!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

We believe we will be united with her on Sept. 19th, and our Consulate Appointment is Sept. 29th!!!!!!

Here we come, sweet Mei Li!!!!

Womun ai ni!

More to come soon :)

It's TIme!!!!!

2011-09-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

We are awaiting the final word about travel dates and our consulate appointment, but we are expected to receive our TA in the next few days!!!! And, we will more than likely be in China meeting our sweet girl in mid-September. . . just a couple of weeks!!!!! It is difficult to wrap my brain around the fact that we are finally going to be united with our little girl. . . who has lived in our hearts and minds for the last 4 years! And, she is about to be with us in person--for now and forever more :) !! It almost feels like a sweet recurring dream that you wake up trying to remember in detail and pray that you dream again each night----all of a sudden becoming real!

There are really no words to express the emotions. This four-year journey to our daughter is finally taking us to the next step!!! Uniting us with her at last!!! :)

Thanks to all who have followed along our journey over the years! I will be having much more to post soon!!

Thank you, Lord!!!! :D

Hip Hip Hooray!!! We Got our LOA!!!!

2011-07-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it finally came!! We received our LOA (Letter of Approval) from China granting us their permission to adopt our sweet girl!!! The letter is stamped 6-28.2011, and we received the news on Friday, July 1st!!!

Mei Li!! It is official now. We are going to be your parents!!!

Now, we have some final Immigration and Visa steps to take and prepare for travel! We hope to travel in 2-3 months!

What beautiful news to receive on the 4th of July weekend!!!! We will receive an update on our Mei Li very soon!

I'm about to bust wide open! Can you tell?

Thank you, Lord!!!! It's been a LONG 4 years. . . but, certainly worth the wait! :)

LID!!!!!! May 11, 2011!!!!!

2011-05-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

Yayayayay!!!!! Just got word that we have our LID. . . May 11, 2011!

We have been told to expect our LOA (Letter of Approval) in 2-4 weeks??? Then, from LOA, travel should happen in 2-3 months! So, if all goes according to plan. . . we could travel to get our Mei Li in August or September!!!!

Can't wait!!! Fingers crossed for a quick LOA!!!! :)

More Treasured Photos and Info on our Sweet Mei Li!!!

2011-05-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

Our Mei Li is Thriving!!!!

Tah-Dah!!!! You Gotta Love Me!!!!

We are counting our blessings at the White House!!! This time of waiting. . . going on 4 years, now since we began our HS and road to adoption. . . has been filled with so much time of "silence" and "unanswered questions". It began to feel, many times, as if we would never meet our daughter. . . like we were standing out in the middle of a barren desert with no road in sight and nothing but miles of nothingness around us as far as we could see. So, we just "stood". . . waiting for direction... for a road to appear... And, we stood there a long time. But, last September, our road finally appeared. We met our daughter for the first time through the pictures in her file. And, we began the next leg of our journey to her. There were still many unanswered questions. And, we, for many months, didn't have any more news or updates on our sweet girl. But, at least we knew our road. And, we kept putting one foot in front of the other to get to her.

Within the last month, we have "stumbled upon" this amazing Yahoo group of Shanghai families. And, through these families who are bonded together with one commonality. . . we all have children we are bringing home... or have brought home.... from Shanghai. And, most of our children are in the same orphanage and know one another. Through this beautiful group of families, a window to our daughter's world has opened. And, lovely pictures and "eye-witness" updates of her health and well-being are being given to us. I have to tell you, this is like manna from heaven.

Thank you, Mary Beth, for these recent pictures!!!!! And, thank you for telling us what you saw with your very own eyes about our daughter while you were in Shanghai last month!!!! She tells us that Mei Li is overflowing with personality, is incredibly happy, is playful and full of joy. . . and that she walks and runs and gets around beautifully!!! What wonderful news!!!!!

Without further delay. . .

No words. . . just look :)

I don't think she's full of mischief. . . do you??? ;)

Her shirt says it all!

Mei Li loves visitors!! She is "not" shy, I hear :)

Pure joy!!! And, never lacking for expression. . .

I wonder what she is thinking about here.

Mei Li and her friends :)

Mei Li with her classmates

That candy must taste good!!

Mei Li, practicing the air-horn. :)

Our precious little girl!!! Can't wait for you to come home!!

Thank you so much, Mary Beth!!! What treasures you have given us while we wait!!

New Pic of our Sweet Mei Li!!

2011-04-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Just look at this smile!! This photo was taken by someone who travelled this month! So glad to see her happy :)

DTC on Friday April 22nd! :)

2011-04-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

Good news! Our dossier if officially "authenticated" and was sent to China last Friday, April 22nd!!! Fingers crossed that it all moves faster than expected. But, we've been told it should be about 5 months until we will travel.

Thanks for following our journey to Mei Li! :)

Part 2: The Journey: A Left Turn off the SE coast of China

2011-04-19T05:50:00.000-07:00

So, we had begun our adoption journey!! We had heard God's voice loud and clear. He had confirmed His call on us to adopt. He had confirmed that we were to go to China. And, we took the plunge to "go forth" to China with anticipation and excitement. We had no idea we were just taking the first step of what would become a 4-year journey. Perhaps, that was best left a mystery! ;)

We began the homestudy. . . the meetings. . . the cancelled meetings. . . the rescheduled meetings. We did our education requirements. It was truly like we were going to get our Master's degree. Classes, books, online coursework. . . For those of you going through the process. . . you are chuckling right now because "You KNOW" what I'm talking about. ;) Even when we sprinted through all of the educational requirements and paperwork (and MORE paperwork). . . THEN the hard part came. We had to WAIT on fingerprints to come back and child abuse and neglect clearances and medical reports. And, when I say WAIT. . . I mean WAAAAIIIT. It was delay after delay. . . and every bit of it was outside our control. It took 5 months for my husband's fingerprints to come back. And, we couldn't move forward with our homestudy OR adoption until it was back.

While this waiting period was underway. . . we were busy taking our classes, knocking out everything we "HAD" control over. And, that is when we began to learn how long the China "healthy child" adoptions were taking. The wait time was growing from 3 years . . . to 4 or 5 years. Geoff and I were sick to our stomachs thinking that we might all (Anna Grace too) have to wait 4 or 5 years for Anna Grace's sister to come home. AG would be close to 10. . . a HUGE age difference between them. And, HOW MANY times would we have to re-do and update this paperwork in the meantime??? We were frustrated. But, we knew that God had pointed us to China. . . so we continued to move forward.

It was February of 2008 (we had begun our HS first of Oct. 2007), and we were sitting in Dr. Chambers' IA clinic workshop, and we sat down next to the Coueys. We instantly made friends, and we learned that they were adopting from Taiwan. They shared all about their agency, the process, the wait-time. . . and all of a sudden we saw a wonderful opportunity that might allow us to adopt much sooner than 4 to 5 years. And, for heaven's sake, Taiwan is just off the SE coast of China. . . less than 100 miles!!! And, the children are Asian. That was still staying within God's plan, as far as we could see. China even still considers Taiwan to be a part of China. . . although Taiwan begs to differ. It was "just" a suburb of southern China. Right, God???

After some discussion and thought and prayer, Geoff and I decided to change our course (last second. . . because our HS had been completed for China and our SW was ready to write it up and send it off for all of the US clearances). And, we asked her to write it up, instead, for Taiwan. This Taiwan road should take less than a year. People were getting to travel for their child, at that time, in about 6-8 months from the time they went on the wait list. The babies were 6-9 months of age when they came home. It all appeared to be a better choice. We only had to get our HS cleared on the U.S. side; then, we could go on the Taiwan wait list!! We expected to travel in under a year. Things were looking up!

So, we were OFF to Taiwan!!! That is about the time I created this blog. Thus, the URL name. :)

We were about to learn three things:

1. All that glitters is "not" gold.

2. a Left turn off the coast of China, even for less than 100 miles, was not what God had called us and confirmed for us to do.

3. Even in a desert, God can make blessings overflow.

Thanks for following!

Our Journey to Mei Li "The call" . . . Part 1 . . . a recap of our story

2011-04-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

As we are approaching our 4 year mark since the beginning of our adoption journey, I think it appropriate to recap a little. Our story may be fuzzy to those who have followed over the past years. And, for our new friends. . . you may be downright confused about why our URL is "calledtotaiwan". So. . . Part 1 of our journey to Mei Li. . . in a nutshell. ;) The other parts will follow soon.

In the fall of 2007, Geoff and I were at a place in our lives where we were seeking God's guidance and direction strongly. We felt a pulling and restlessness. . . like there was something we were supposed to be doing. Yet, we didn't know what that was. We felt like we were "spinning our wheels". . . so to speak. We weren't miserable. . . we just had this restless, anxious longing to discover what it was that we were "not doing" that we were supposed to be doing.

So, we prayed this prayer. "Lord, you put us here on this earth for a reason. You gave us the gifts, the experiences, the passions that we have for a reason. You know how it all works together "for the good". You know how every part of who we are, without wasting a single experience, personality trait, or gift. . . works together to serve the purpose you placed us here for.

And. . . we are available. Use us and all that you've given us. . . to your honor and glory. Amen. "

Almost immediately. . . I KID YOU NOT. . . we began running into people (some strangers, some acquaintances, some friends. . . ) who began suggesting that we should consider adoption. In a period of about 2 weeks, we had about 8 different encounters. Adoption was not even on Geoff's and my radar up to this point. But, at the end of that 2 weeks, it was as if it were being shouted from the heavens. Honestly, I got a little irritated, at first, with folks "out of the blue" suggesting that we should adopt. Who were they? And, what did they know about us and what was best for our family?

LONG STORY SHORT, the two-week "peppering" culminated in a birthday party held in Gadsden of one of our daughter's friends. We went to it, and lo and behold, there were 3 internationally adopted children there. Two from Russia. . . one from China. Two of them, only home for less than 2 weeks. I remember nothing else from that birthday party of great significance. . . except that these children were absolutely beautiful. I realized that they had been (not two weeks before) sitting in an orphanage on the other side of the planet. . . a huge ocean and continent away. . . all alone with no family, no hope and no future. And, today. . . two weeks later. . . they are in a loving family, thousands of miles separating them from the orphanage that once held them and provided them with enough resources to survive--but no love and nurture to enable them to thrive. They now, have a hope and a future. I could not take my eyes off of them. And, that was the moment God popped me right between the eyes and opened my heart to His call to care for the orphan. And, His call on our family. . . to complete our family through this amazing thing called "adoption".

Geoff and I talked and prayed about it. It was on a Wednesday night at 10 p.m. that we prayed and asked God "to confirm" that He was, indeed, calling our family to step out in faith and adopt a child. And. . . if He was calling us to adopt. . . to please direct us to where we were supposed to go? There are orphans all over the world. . . over 200 million of them. . . in our own country and across the globe. We needed to know where "He" had a child chosen for our family.

THE NEXT MORNING, our answer came. I went for a walk with my friend, Amy, and took Anna Grace (who was 4 yrs. old at the time). After our walk, I took AG to the park for a few minutes to play. We were the only people at the park. Not 5 minutes into our playtime, a van pulls up and a family gets out. A beautiful girl, a couple of years older than my daughter (and resembling our daughter in a striking way), steps out of the van holding the hand of her two year old sister from China. . . My heart nearly exploded! I asked the girl, who looked like an older version of my daughter, if this was her sister? And, she smiled and answered, "Yes. We adopted her from China 8 weeks ago."

WOW! He spoke quickly and answered all of our questions in one powerful moment. The mother got out with their other children a few moments later, and shared with me that their little girl from China had special needs. She was adopted from a "blind" orphanage. But, when they brought her home. . . fully expecting to bring home a blind child. . . they took her in for vision testing and she was NOT blind. I watched her run all over that playground and climb and slide. . . Truly miraculous!

And, as if God were saying to us , "And, just in case you didn't get the message the first time, here's another "confirmation" for you!" :)

Later, that SAME DAY, Geoff got home from work and brought the mail in. He asked, "Kristy, did you send off for information about passports?" I said, "No, I printed off a passport application form last night (before our prayer asking God to confirm His call) from the us.travel.gov site. But, I haven't filled it out or even found out where to take it to get it processed. That's my goal this week. Why?" Geoff walks over and hands me a postcard from the US Post Office entitled "Passport Fair. . . this weekend. . . Bring x,y and z to the Roebuck post office and get your passport processed quickly". . .

Whoever heard of a "Passport Fair?" You better believe we showed up on Saturday!!!

So. . . Geoff and I began our homestudy paperwork to go to China in September 2007. We began our journey, however, going the route of a "healthy child adoption". We weren't quite ready to grasp that ultimately God was calling us to adopt a waiting child from China. That realization came much later. . .

But, now that we look back at the moment He confirmed His call on that playground. . . He was calling us to a SN adoption all along. We just had to catch up with Him.

And, He had some work to finish in us in the meantime. . .

Stay tuned for more of our "condensed version" of Our Journey To Mei Li. . .

Thanks for following!

Another Treasure to Share :)

2011-04-01T05:41:00.001-07:00

Another gift from above!! They just keep coming! I got the sweetest email from another mom on the Yahoo Group from Shanghai adoptive families with this lovely picture of Mei Li with her beautiful friend at the orphanage! Her friend is already home! We are going to get these special friends together. What a blessing!! And a priceless picture of our daughter. Amazing how they both have come around the world to their new homes. . . and will be close enough to visit one another.

Oh, What a Gift From Above!!! :)

2011-03-30T06:05:00.001-07:00

What a treasure to find this photo of our "happy" and lovely Mei Li!!

Get a load of that SMILE!!!!

Love that face!!!!

That face. . . . :)

Lunch must be a little "tough to take" today ;)

I know, I know. . . I've been terrible about updating over the last months. Even longer. . . But, that's truly because for SO LONG there was absolutely nothing to report. So, we busied ourselves with other things. It's a good thing to keep your life moving forward and yourself growing while you wait in this process. Otherwise, it's really easy to dwell too much on things completely outside of your control. Enough to drive one bonkers ;)

BUT, Ta-Dah!!!!! Our Mei Li is not long from coming home!!!! We have gone through all the hoops and peaks and valleys of a derailed Taiwan adoption AND the last 6 months, we have spent having our homestudy updated, fingerprints re-done, new Immigration approval on the proper China form. . . and HERE WE ARE!!!! :) Our dossier is being authenticated as I write this, and will be sent immediately, if not sooner, to China!!!!! WOOHOOOO!!! :D LONG time comin', ya'll!!!!

We've been told it'll be approximately 4-5 months from now until we travel to bring her home. Fingers are tightly crossed that it will happen sooner. But, I've learned during this process to always err on the side of "later rather than sooner" ;)

Even more exciting. . . I just found an amazing Yahoo group of families who have adopted or are adopting from the same Shanghai orphanage in which Mei Li lives!!! And, after going through the photos in their database, I found about 5 pictures of our beautiful girl!!! In every one, she is happy and in several, she is absolutely "beaming"!!! Her smile is like the sun, no kidding. I am so grateful that our Mei Li is a happy girl, filled with joy. And, as far as orphanages go. . . we could not have hoped for a better, more happy place than the one she lives in!

I feel like that unexpected "finding" of our daughter through the wonderful Shanghai adoption Yahoo group. . . was just a gift from above. God knows how much we want to see her and hug her. . . and how we have longed to know that she is "okay" in our absence. What a treasure!!! My heart felt like it would explode last night!! I could not go to sleep!! And, I think I dreamed about Mei Li when I finally went to sleep. What a confirming gift from above that was. . . and COMPLETELY unexpected!!! :)

And, I sent one of my CDs to the orphanage nannies in hopes that they would play my music for her. I let them know that "Songbird" was recorded in honor of Mei Li. It is "her song". I hope they are playing it for her and the other children. I would love for her to know my voice. . . and even more, that she would know that one song on that CD is "for her" from her "mama". :)

I WILL do better about updating from now on! I promise! We now have something to blog about :)

Wohoooooo!!! We received our PA today!!

2010-11-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy, happy Thanksgiving a few days early!! We have received our PA from China!! Looks like it is a "GO" for us to bring our our precious Mei Li!!! It's a good thing, too. . . she already has stolen our hearts! We've already made her a panda Build-a Bear with our voices in it, so she can hear us speak any time she wants while she waits for us. :)

There are some happy hearts at the White House tonight!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Kristy

The Sweetest Little Face!! :)

2010-10-14T07:04:00.001-07:00

Just had to share this pic of our sweet little Mei Li!

The Writing on the Wall leads us to the Great Wall. . . :)

2010-10-12T20:13:00.001-07:00

This week has been an eye-opener for us. If there was ever a question in our minds about changing countries and switching programs, that question was put to rest yesterday. We received word from Journeys of the Heart that our program is still on hold, no definitive answer from TWCA about "start-up", turnover in JOH staffing. . . just an overall feeling of "bleh". It is even possible that TWCA won't start referring babies again. After almost a year of waiting after being given a 6-8 month timeframe from the start. . . this news just sits on your stomach like sour milk. And, for me. . . confirmation that my instincts were right all along. Something wasn't right. . . still don't know what. . . but, further proof that now is the time to change course.

What's more. . . the Lord already has led us to our new country---and most importantly, to our little girl! :) I have felt a joy and peace about Mei Li since we were shown her file, but the letter from JOH confirming the continuation of turmoil in our Taiwan program just seals it for us.

Last Saturday, we held a yard sale to raise some funds toward our adoption expenses. It was a great success!!! We will hold another one soon. It certainly helps, but much more is needed. I also began researching grants today, and plan to apply as soon as our homestudy update is complete. You see, Mei Li is on the waiting child list and will have some medical needs once she comes home. Definitely physical therapy, but may potentially need another surgery. We'll have to wait and see. So, we are beginning the effort to round up resources to bring her home and take care of her medical needs once she comes home. If anyone has any suggestions about great grant organizations, I'd love to hear about them!! :)

The song writing has continued to blossom. I wrote lyrics for another two songs the other day and have a meeting with Marc (my producer and dear friend) tomorrow to co-write with him. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have music as such a vibrant part of my life. I pray the Lord will continue to bless our adoption and the music He has so generously poured into my life!!

I updated the blog on my music site tonight, and would love for you to read it! Check it out at www.kristywhitemusic.com. I believe it will encourage you.

As you begin to think about Christmas gifts this year, "Dancin' on the Wind" makes an excellent gift and stocking stuffer!! You can download it from iTunes, CD Baby and Amazon, OR you can email me and I'll send you a signed hard copy of the album. This album project has come to mean so much to me on so many levels. . . and now it has a whole new level of importance---its sales will help us bring our sweet, precious, long-awaited Mei Li home! Please share my music with you friends. Word of mouth is a great thing!! :)

I'll update soon! Our goal now is to get all of our paperwork for China completed by the end of this month so the dossier can be started. The race to Mei Li begins!! :) Can't wait to experience every moment of our journey to her!

Taiwan's Red Tape Became Our Red Thread to China

2010-09-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been an overwhelming and amazing two weeks. . . after an amazing year of discovery and growth and new beginnings. I'm just going to say it. . .

We have FOUND our daughter, at last!!! :) She is beautiful, she is 3years old and she is living in Shanghai!!

After a 3 year adoption journey, two of those years spent "stuck in the mud" in Taiwan, with no foreseeable change in status; two weeks ago, we were shown the file of a little "glowing" beauty in Shanghai. I say she glows because every single picture shows her with a smile that spans her entire face and lights up her eyes. She is a happy little girl full of joy that cannot be contained. You can't look at her picture and not start smiling yourself!! :)

What is amazing, is that her file was handed to Geoff and me 2 days before the "birth" of my album. The call from the international medicine pediatrician to review her file came 2 hours before my album release!! After two years in a barren desert with no word and no forward movement in our adoption, both the birth of my long-awaited album and the birth of our long-awaited daugther were given to us on the very same day! God is absolutely amazing!! ONLY He could time things that perfectly!

Another really cool confirmation. . . The name that we have had for our daugther for 3 years is Mei Li. Our little sweetheart in China's name ends in Mei. And, she answers to Mei Mei!! Mei Mei is "Sister" in Chinese. And, our daughter has a panda bear that she named Mei Mei that she sleeps with every night.

So, today our LOI (Letter of Intent to Adopt) was sent to China! We are awaiting our pre-approval. And we are about to bust wide open with excitement that our beautiful little girl is finally coming home soon!!!

And, the album release was an absolute dream come true. It was a great turnout and a magical evening. I have MANY hard copies of "Dancin' on the Wind" that I would love to sign and sell. The hard copies are $15 with $2.50 shipping. Let me know if you would like a signed copy. And, you can find me on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby as well!!! Now, there is even more reason for this album to sell many copies. . . we have a baby girl to bring home from China!!! Yay! Please spread the word to all of your friends about my album. Word of mouth is my best friend!!
You can check out my website too at www.kristywhitemusic.com.

The blessings are pouring so fast we can't open our arms wide enough to catch them all!
Please lift a prayer that our Mei Li will be brought home soon!

Hello Again! It's Been a Long While. . .

2010-09-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of pics from 4th of July!

Well, it has certainly been a long while since my last post, and it is time to check back in. You have probably assumed that there hasn't been much "adoption" news over the past few months, and if that was your assumption, then you were correct. We are patiently awaiting the news that TWCA is lifting it's "hold" on their program 3 (that has been in place since last November), and that referrals are starting up again. It appears that the restructuring of the program has taken place, there is confidence and high hope that the restructuring will meet the scrutiny of AIT and prevent further raised eyebrows. But, now all that is left are the government visits to "pass" the new system. It could be another couple of months (or more if we are realistic).

All the while we continue to pray that the Lord will lead us to our daughter He has chosen for us. And, we are keeping our hearts open to His leading should He direct us on to a new path. Just being quiet and patient for now.

But, while the adoption journey has been at a long-time standstill, other things are happening like crazy!! I have completed my album project! It has been the tip-top of my bucket list, and I truly believe this record was something I was supposed to complete prior to our adoption being complete. I have had an amazing music journey this year, and it involved singing, recording and, surprisingly, (writing songs!!) My album has 4 of my originals on it, and I have about 15 more that are waiting for me to complete them. Absolutely thrilling!!! Please check out my music website at http://www.kristywhitemusic.com/ and pass it along to your friends. It is my independent project, so I am relying strictly on word of mouth to promote it. You can hear some samples on the site. And, if you read my music blog, you can read the stories behind my original songs. I have to say that I am ecstatic over this!! God has been very good to me this year in blessing me with music. The album will be released for sale on September 16th on CDBaby.com and iTunes.

Anna Grace is doing beautifully in 2nd grade and is still loving horseback riding lessons. It looks like we are blessed again with a wonderful teacher this school year. She leaves in the morning happy and comes home smiling each day. I am SO thankful for that. :)

Hopefully, more adoption news will be on the horizon soon. Please keep us in your prayers as we seek the Lord's leading in our adoption and in this album release as well.

I'll post again soon, and I'll do a better job from now on with consistent updates. If any of you are on Facebook, check out my "Kristy White Music" page as well. You can become a "fan" if you are so inclined ;), and it will keep you up to date on the latest music news.

Thanks for reading!

May is here

2010-05-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

May has already arrived! In some ways, it is hard to believe Anna Grace is almost finished with 1st grade!!! It seems only a short time ago she was getting ready for her first day of school. Her teacher has been fantastic, and Anna Grace has had a wonderful 1st grade experience. She is doing so very well in school and her reading is simply astounding. She is reading on a 6th grade level--based on a diagnostic test she was given last week. I'm thrilled she is having such a great start to school. And, she just happens to be the apple of my eye. I adore my little girl! :)

And, Anna Grace just began taking horseback riding lessons last week. She absolutely loved it! Her instructor is also our team mom from her class at school. She is an amazing woman with a lifelong love and passion for horses. She trains them, shows them, and happens to be a mom of 2 little girls, one of whom is in Anna Grace's class at school. It is beautiful to watch her work with the animals and the children and see them respond to her. One of the horses, she rescued last fall. It is a beautiful black mare and was starving to death in a pasture. She got the horse, and has been nurturing it, feeding it, grooming it, exercising it--and now she can ride it (only she rides it... no children. . . she is currently training it). Emmie (the mare) is now beautiful with a sleek black coat, she feels like velvet, her muscles ripple, she runs like the wind and is completely in love with her mama, Mrs. Rhonda. I am thankful we have found someone like her to teach Anna Grace about these animals--to love and respect them, communicate and interact with them, and care for them. I look forward to seeing how Anna Grace grows as she continues.

It is now month 6 of the 6-8 month window we were given for the "hold" on referrals from TWCA (Taiwan Women and Children's Association). We haven't been given any "new" news in the past 6 months, except for monthly emails from Journeys of the Heart telling us they haven't heard anything new and they know the wait is tough. I definitely don't want to get our hopes up, just to be let down. It has felt like it just isn't going to happen for so long now. It would literally be a shock to find out that referrals are being given again. But, it seems, we should be receiving some sort of communication soon since the timeframe is now up---unless it is closer to 8 months than 6. And, IT IS international adoption. . . so, it is possible that we could hear nothing for a long time. . . It is an accepted fact that so many times in adoption, the adopting families have a tremendous amount to lose. So much is demanded of adoptive families. . . financially, timewise, emotionally, paperwork, hoops upon hoops upon hoops. . . and NO guarantees. I definitely believe in protecting the rights of the children (that goes absolutely without saying), and protecting the rights of the birthmom; but, while they are at it, they could do a much better job of protecting and taking care of adoptive families who are out there just hanging---completely at the mercy of people, governments. . . . all entities involved with the adoption. It is frustrating to see how much is demanded of adoptive families; and yet, they are given no guarantees or protection. Okay, I've vented enough. It's been a while since I let off steam . Thank you for allowing me a moment. I will update as soon as I know anything new.

The album slowed down this past 3 weeks. It is frustrating b/c I am at the very end. All we need is to add in a few instrumentals and some background vocals. But, lining up schedules of musicians and getting them in to the studio is not as easy as it would seem. So, hopefully, there will be news soon to report on the album. All tracks are laid, just need to record a few odds and ends to polish a few of the songs. I am SO EXCITED about how it is turning out!! Yay! Stay tuned. . . :-)

Have a wonderful week, everyone! And, thanks for following!

Spring is Here!!

2010-03-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe April is only a few days away!! This winter has been a productive one, and a healthy one for the White family. With only the occasional cold, we are thankful for good health when so many are fighting nasty sickness.

We are still "on hold" in our adoption process. This has become a real test of perseverence and faith--when we have absolutely no control over our situation. The only thing we can do is wait and pray that God will bring our daughter home to us. We trust that Program 3 will open up and begin referring babies again in the next few months. This "hold" on the program was to last 6-8 months while TWCA restructured to better meet the criteria of AIT. That period began in November, so we are coming to the end of that wait time. But, we have learned nothing during this season of waiting. JOH has updated us monthly that they have no further news from TWCA. I know international adoption is a tight-lipped kind of process, where you just have to be "at the mercy" of two governments, and respect the authority and culture of the country from which you are adopting. And, respect means. . . remain silent and wait.

We are continuing to hang in there. But, Anna Grace is beginning to show signs of frustration. Two and a half years is a long time for a 7 year old to wait to see the face of the sister she's prayed every night for. She was 4 1/2 when we began our process. That is a lifetime for a child. She drew a picture of her sister on her dry erase board with a note to the Taiwan government (she views the government as a mean and nasty person) to give us her sister. It was a pointed message. Then, she called me in to show me and began to cry. She wants her sister to be more than a dream in her mind. She wants to hold her and love her and teach her things. She is going to be a wonderful big sister. I believe she will appreciate her sibling so much more now that she has had to wait so long and pray so hard.

The album is almost complete---one more song to record!! The amazing thing about this journey is what has happened during this process. It started with me recording covers of great classic jazz standards. But, the Lord has done something really cool. He has been giving me songs. The songs He has given me are primarily gospel/blues, and have messages of hope and faith. Marc Phillips (my producer and an amazing musician), has gotten very excited about these originals and has created the arrangements for them. He told me last week at a session that he is more excited about the originals than the jazz tunes. I have to agree! I love all of them, but it is truly amazing how the Lord has grown me and shown me more of who I becoming through the songs He has given to me. Stay tuned to hear when the album is released!! And, once I have my website up and running, I'll let you know that as well. I am so thankful for this opportunity to grow and thankful for having such a wonderful and supportive husband who has encouraged me each step of the way! What a blessing! This album journey has helped, tremendously, in dealing with the uncertainties and disappointments during our adoption journey.

Pictures are coming soon!!! Geoff is uploading some. I know I've promised. I'm going to make good on that promise.

Have a wonderful Easter, everyone!! And, thanks for reading!

A New Year

2010-01-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

2o1o has started off well. For the moment, I don't have any theatre performances lined up for a few months. . . which is fine with me! :-) I am currently finishing my jazz album, and even have written two original songs which will debut on it. I find I am much better able to focus on the music and the writing when all the noise and clutter of the crazy rehearsal schedules stops. I am having the time of my life, and it is truly one of those "life dreams" that has been put on the back burner for far too long. I will keep you posted as I finish and as it becomes available on ITunes, CD Baby and when I create my website. So much to do and learn!!! But, isn't that part of what life and "living" is all about!!?? Keep growing, learning, challenging and ultimately being a light. I hope that my journey to fulfilling this music dream will inspire many other people, young and old, to take their dreams and make them a reality, and ultimately be a "difference" in this world.

Anna Grace has made the youngest performing group, called the Sprouts!!! And, she is there at rehearsal as I write this. She even has an audition with them today for Sound of Music which will be produced in a few months. She has gotten so big, and she is completely unafraid!! She practiced her song all week and was dressed all snazzy in her little dance slacks and shoes and hair pulled back in a pony tail (they are adamant about the hair being out of the face :-). She hopped out of the car with her music folder and bag with snack with a "Bye, mom!" and didn't even look back. I'm so happy she is comfortable in her own skin and has the confidence to venture out and try things!!! That is a big part of what we aim for as parents.

Our adoption is, of course, still on hold for the next 6 months at least. At this point, we don't feel the Lord leading us to change countries. Although, I have to admit the stories and images of the people in Haiti, men, women, and children. . . have torn my heart. I pray the Lord will glorify Himself in a mighty way doing miraculous things for the people of that country to help them and lift them up. It has done my heart so much good to see these people, pulled from the ashes, come out singing and thanking God. They have so much to be angry and hurt about. . . long before the earthquake destroyed the little they had. And, yet, so many of their hearts are pure, completely undeterred in their faith. What a light those people are in this world. . . as the whole world watches their suffering. I hope the orphaned children will quickly be identified and matched with loving families to embrace them.

I sit here so thankful for the blessings in my life, the beautiful family I have, the job Geoff has been given to provide for our family, the music that fills my heart and our home, my healthy daughter who continues to blossom before our eyes, and the opportunity to use my gifts to the fullest and pursue the dreams in my heart.

We continue to wait for the day our daughter will be introduced to us. And, we eagerly anticipate that moment when we see her face for the first time and Anna Grace sees her sister for the first time. She already has a name, a room awaiting her and a family who has loved her since before she was born.

I wish everyone a beautiful 2010! Make it count! Do something significant in the next 12 months. Don't put those dreams on the back burner any longer. Be a blessing to others around you. And, let me know what you do! I am very interested to see what God does in my life and yours this year! It could be very powerful if we let it! :-)

Christmas Memories 2009

2009-12-26T07:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas Memories 2009, originally uploaded by Tarheel & The Tide.

Christmas at the White House was simply beautiful and simply simple. After wrapping up a busy December with a show at the Children's Theatre, a crazy work schedule, and constant "go, go, go", it was wonderful to have Yaya and Mama B come in town to celebrate Christmas with us at our house. Christmas Eve was memorable and I sang "Gesu Bambino" at the candlelight service at church. I love that service! It is so lovely to see the glow of a thousand candles and hear the Christmas story, and to share it with loved ones. After the service, we came home and ate. . . and ate. . . and we continued to eat right through Christmas day!!! In Christmases past, we have either traveled to Asheville to be with Geoff's family or stayed in town to be with mine. This Christmas was extra special because we could have both Yaya and Mama B together with us on Christmas morning!

Here are a few pics of Christmas morning at the White House! Hope you enjoy ;-) I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas. We'll update again soon!!

Privatizing our blog

2009-12-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hey friends,
We have decided to go ahead and put some controls on our blog and its accessability. All of my friends who follow our blog and have posted and follow along (and we yours too), please just contact me and I'll add you in on our list of approved viewers. I don't know everyone's email address, so be sure to shoot me an email and I'll make sure you are included.

It's difficult to know exactly who views our story and what motives people have. As we continue our adoption journey and share our family news, we feel it is best to know whom we are sharing with.

Thanks for understanding and for continuing to follow our journey.

November Update

2009-12-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Well, November had lots of fun moments. There will be pics posted soon--gotta get Geoff to upload some ;-). First of all, Anna Grace auditioned for a performing group called Sprouts. . . . and (drum rolllllllllll . . .), she found out she made it!!! Let me tell you, that was one excited little girl when she got the email. She had a hard time going to bed after that! It was a "big girl" audition too. No parents allowed. She was dropped off with her head shot, her music and her information sheet. Two hours later, she called us to tell us to come get her. Geoff and I were so proud of her that she was so brave!!! She was asked to sing 16 bars of a song and performed it with an accompanist. She had to learn a dance combination. And, she had to introduce herself using a type of character voice. She was asked to use an "abnoxious cheerleader" voice! Haha!!

Then, the very evening of her audition, we held her 7th birthday party. It was great! We did a "Campfire Sing-a-long" with Daddy on guitar, hot dogs and s'mores and had a flashlight treasure hunt in the back yard with all kinds of goodies from Dollar Tree tucked in nooks and crannies around the yard. Some of the goodies even glowed in the dark! It was a HIT with the little ones! The campfire part turned out well, but I have a few additional gray hairs as a result. For future campfires, here are some tips: 1. have "all" young-uns go potty immediately "before" departing for the campfire. 2. Marshmallows come to the kiddies---not the other way around. Policy around campfire is to stay seated ;-) 3. If one serves hot chocolate out of crock pot, have an ice bucket to add an ice cube to each cup of steaming cocoa so no little hands or lips get roasted. 4. Haven't figured out the alternative to the wire coat hangers for s'mores--but would love to find one! All in all, the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever!!! It was memorable and fun---but mommy was VERY tired at the end of the night!!! All eye balls, lips, noses, fingers and toesies were intact at night's end!!!

I began rehearsals for SCROOGE the musical in early November, and we opened today. It has been great fun and awesome people in the cast. I've also continued to record and work on my album. It is coming along really well! So excited about the tracks that have been layed so far!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent the afternoon at my brother's home with family! It was a house full. The food was sinful and the company was great :-) We are truly blessed with our families, and that we could all be together. . . at least mostly. We did miss seeing Geoff's family this Thanksgiving. But, Yaya will be here for Christmas!

We enter December and the Christmas season with much to be grateful for. Still no referral news. The last Journeys referral that we are aware of was in October. We are still #6 on the list--to our knowledge. Sure would be a Christmas miracle to see our sweet girl's face for the first time. Not counting on it. . . but, just in case Santa's reading ;-)

There will be more posts to come! Thanks for reading.

Here are some of AG's latest costume fashions! ;-)

2009-10-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

AG sporting her "Queen of Hearts" (who's all about LOVE--who's turned over a new leaf) for Hero Day at school. Just when I thought I was done. . . Anna Grace informs me, it is missing a detail. Gotta add some ballet slippers on there too to capture a hobby of AG's. This "hero" is supposed to capture a postive character trait and something "uniquely" Anna Grace. So, love and ballet it is!! "Dancin' Queen of Hearts".
Now, Anna Grace decided she wanted to be Mary Poppins for Halloween this year. I love me some Mary Poppins, however, the costumes online were $150!!!! SOOOO, I did a little thrift store shopping, used some dye, elbow grease and hot glue and put together my own Mary Poppins outfit. I think it turned out pretty well for hand-made.

Anna Grace had 50's day and here's the little getup we put together! Fun, fun!!!!

We've had big fun at the White House putting together some fun costumes for different occasions in the past two weeks. I guess all that theatre time and seeing the magic made in costume shops has helped me a lot! Haha!!!

Fall Happenings

2009-10-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

This fall is turning out to be such a learning season for us at the White House :-). Geoff and I have both diligently been working on the Experiencing God Bible Study through our church since August, and boy have we learned much. I'm thankful it came along exactly at the time it did. It has helped us to get many things into perspective.

Our adoption is still "wait, wait, wait". We began our paperwork chase in October 2007, went on the waitlist for our baby girl in September 2008 and we are approximately number 6 on the waiting list in October 2009. Referrals have slowed dramatically over the past year, so once upon a time #6 on the waitlist was an exciting place to be--knowing the call could come any moment. Under the current wait times, however, it could be another 6 months or longer. But, surprisingly, we are at peace and know that the Lord has our daughter specially chosen for our family. When the time is right, she will be placed in our arms.

In the meantime, Anna Grace is doing great in school. She is growing and maturing every day. She is taking ballet, jazz and tap and her teacher bragged to me about how well she is doing in ballet! I'm so proud of my girl! I'm just enjoying my moments with her. She has decided to be Mary Poppins for Halloween this year, and we went from thrift store to thrift store finding all the pieces for the costume. A little dye, elbow grease and creativity can do amazing things!!! And at a fraction of the cost of buying offline! During the same weekend, we had to create a Queen of Hearts costume for school AND a 50's costume for 50's Day! I think I need to start a costume business after all the costuming work I've done over the past 2 weeks! ;-)

So, we are enjoying our time together as a family, praying for and eagerly awaiting the day we see our daughter's face for the first time, and growing in our walk with the Lord. I continue to work on my album, and use this time of waiting... to grow.

I will do better about keeping the blog updated. I've been a bit slack about it over the past months. Hopefully, there will be more exciting news to post soon!

Have a wonderful weekend! And, thanks for reading .

School Days!!!

2009-08-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Anna Grace and her Ya Ya at "Shindig on the Green"-enjoying a sno-cone!

Mama and her little princess :-)

Boy, it's hard to believe Anna Grace will be starting 1st grade on Wednesday! It seems like just yesterday I was changing her diapers and pushing her in her stroller. She has grown into such a beautiful, smart and most importantly, sweet young lady! I'm very proud of her. We get to meet her teacher tomorrow, and AG is thrilled.

We had a great weekend in Asheville, NC. We hit a couple of the festivals---Sourwood Festival in Black Mountain and "Shindig on the Green" in Asheville. We heard some fun mountain music, saw some beautiful arts and crafts and even found a lady working an art/craft booth who is from Taiwan!!! She was selling beautiful jewelry and scrolls with personalized messages on them. I bought several goodies from her. How neat to meet her! We even went to a baseball game to see the Asheville Tourists play! Hope you enjoy the pics of some of our fun memories :)

Last week held an exciting ray of light for JOH families. There was finally a girl referral on Thursday for Program 3!!!!! It has been such a drought for so many, many months. It was certainly time for some good news. We should be #7 on the JOH waitlist (as per the Yahoo site's recording)---of course, we know that is not 100% certain since there could be folks on the list who are not listed through the Yahoo site---but hopefully, it's close to correct!! Yea!! Bring on the referrals and more good news for our families and children who are waiting!!!

Have a wonderful week, everyone---and thank you so much for reading!

10 Months on the Wait list and Counting

2009-07-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it's about time for my monthly update. :-) Honestly, the Whites have been busier working this summer than ever. Between teaching theatre workshops, assitant directing the children's chorus in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and helping Geoff and Anna Grace as they have been preparing to open Beauty and the Beast, there has been little time for anything other than running from one theatre to the next! For that I am thankful. It is something we all enjoy as a family. And, how very cool for Anna Grace to have the opportunity to do a show with her daddy! Bless him, he's juggled the intense rehearsal schedule with his equally busy full-time job. But, he's loved every minute!!

Theatre has been a blessing to us. We've made some beautiful friends, we love the creative release, and it has kept us too busy to wallow in frustration over the stalling of the adoption process. We have now been on the wait list officially 10 months. By the first of October, we will have been on our adoption journey for 2 years. I realize that many countries have much longer waits, but when we decided on Taiwan and this particular program, one of the biggest "positives" was the short wait-time. We knew going in that adoption was a roller coaster, constantly changing. But, we can't deny that we have grown frustrated over the past months as referrals have slowed down to an unintelligible drip with no real explanation. The lack of explanation is what is most concerning. Last fall, we were expecting to wait no more than 8-9 months for our referral. As of November, the referrals were pouring in so fast that it looked as if we might see our baby girl's face by March or April 2009. Now, it looks as if it could be December at the earliest and that is a "best case scenerio". Of course, once we receive our referral, the court process will take another 6 months or so. We have become very aware that all of this is completely out of our hands. So, we are very thankful to have "sweet distractions" to keep our minds on things we do have control over.

On another note. . . I am excited to announce that I will be recording a jazz album. Music is my love. This is something I've dreamed about for a long time. I will create a website and will market it online through CD Baby and Itunes. I'm eager to begin this recording project and see where it leads. I will keep you posted as it progesses!

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to wait to meet our daughter. Anna Grace is being incredibly patient, but is ever so eager to become a big sister. And, in the meantime, we are embracing life, pursuing our dreams and making each day count.

Through this adoption journey, one thing has become ever so clear. . . that there are so many uncertainties in this life. We truly do not know what tomorrow will bring. But, I believe every day is a gift. And, our gifts, talents and passions are treasures planted within us for us to use for the good. I don't see this "life's uncertainties" revelation as a negative. I see it as a great way to approach life. . . with enthusiasm and urgency. The only guarantee we have is: "if you do nothing, nothing will come from it".

So with that said, the Whites will continue to embrace each day, squeeze every ounce of joy and opportunity from it--not wasting one second of the days we are given, continue to grow ourselves and use our gifts--and wait patiently (as much as possible) on the Lord's timing to bring our daughter home to us.

Thank you for following and sharing in our journey.