Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

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!

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!

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

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!

Some Pics from our last few days in Hong Kong

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.

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

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 :)