Do not be afraid for I am with you.
I will bring your children from the East
and gather you from the West."
~God (Isaiah 43:5)
We have had Millie for 2 weeks and 1 day. She is so happy. She smiles all day long. She is in the process of meeting all of her new family. We still have so many people to go, but we are getting there. She has come so far so fast. Last night she slept all the way through the night for the first time since we left China. She is sleeping about 11 hours a night. Millie has 2 naps a day, and we are working on a schedule for eating. I can't believe how much that I don't know. One of the many benefits to becoming a mom after everyone else is, getting to call and ask advice from all of my friends and family. I also get all of the hand me downs to borrow for awhile. I have a house full of all of my friends and sisters must have items for babies. I remember seeing all the toys and playtime things in their house during their children's early days, and I never thought I would ever get to use them. But they are in my house and being put to very good use. I'm happy to see our daughter laughing when she sees them. Millie is working very hard at getting all of our attention. I believe she had older kids where she lived, that played with her all day long. She loves to play and make noise. It feels the house with so much excitement.
Kaelin is trying to get used to her, but that will take time.
Kaelin and I have always been so close that it is hard on her. But soon she will love Millie as much as she loves us. I will post some picture after the weekend so I can get Millie on her first camping trip.
We are home at last. After a long trip that Amelia only slept for about 4 hours over 28 hours, we are settling in. Amelia seems to like the her new home. She and we are having some jet lag problems. Getting her back on schedule has been a challenge, going okay considering she is 12 hours off from her normal routine. Millie sleeps about 6 hours and then she is ready to go. But we are working on it and it will be back to normal soon, I hope. We went to the Pediatrician yesterday and that was traumatic for all of us. She had to get blood drawn and it was terrible. Now since it wasn't successful we have to go to Kosiar's to have it done again. She is starting to play with toys more than she did the first couple of days we had her. She likes food more than her bottle. And she smiles all the time. No tears until bedtime. We cannot go in public without everyone stopping us to look at her. She laughs and smiles for everyone and then it takes for ever to get anything done. I'm discussing with her that she has to tame it down just a tiny bit for mama, but she doesn't agree. But I love it and so does she.
My family and friends meet us at the airport for a very emotional welcome. Thanks to everyone and child that stayed up way past their bedtime to see Amelia. It was so good to see everyone there waiting for us. That moment was very intense for us. I couldn't believe we made it home and then everyone was there. She will hear about all of you that have made our wait and time in China well worth it. Amelia is the lucky one, for all of your support and prayers have lead us home to you. I will not let any of you down when it comes to being her Mother. She has our hearts and my life will never be the same. I know that I have posted on this blog, and with the help of my sister created it, but I have said it before and I feel like it needs to be said again. All of your comments and support have made it more than I could have ever dreamed it would have been. I love that all of you have taken the time to write us and Amelia. It will be so nice for her to get to read it when she is mature and can understand what happened on May 6Th 2009. She came into all of our lives through Lily. Which brings me to make sure that all of you know that I'm keeping in contact with our Adoption Agency to follow up on Lily. She is being evaluated and treated for her problems, and then the decision will be made on what kind of treatment she will receive to try to get her on the special needs list. And to be adopted. I'm trying to stay on top of it as much as FTIA will let me. They keep telling me that she will be taken very good care of. I just have to have faith that she is in good hands.
So I will keep updates for the next couple of months so everyone that has follow the blog and our journey to meet Amelia, can she how much she will change over just a few months. She has changed so much already.
Our time in China has been emotional on both sides. It coming to an end and we are looking forward to getting home. Today we decided to skip the touring and just have a down day. I had to go to the U.S. Consulate to get some papers notarized to complete out adoption tomorrow. Once we go back to the U.S. Consulate tomorrow we are finished with paper work and Millie is coming home with us. We went to the Pearl factory yesterday and to a shop where the Jade that they sell is grade A. There have been some problems with fake look alike stones just like in America, so that's why it's so important for us to go where they sell the real stone. The pearls where beautiful and the jade is so heavy. We are told that the real jade lets off radiation that promotes good health and the bad does the opposite. So I did buy the good quality. Today we have been walking and just hanging out with Amelia. She did have a rough day yesterday, the first one so far. Some crying and very sleepy. She is cutting teeth so I think that's the reason for the runny nose. But she may have been just having her day. Like I said, every baby here goes through it. They mourn in their own way. Millie may have come to realize that we aren't going anywhere and she isn't either. She went to bed at 7:30pm last night and woke up a new baby. She knows us now and cries when she can't see us, which makes me feel good, but sorry for her. I told Paul she probably thinks we are leaving her for good as she watches us leave. Paul told me tonight as he listened to other families talk about how hard of a time their child is having, everybody is having problems but us. I think we are doing good, but it's not over, she still has to come home and get settled in at our house all over again. Poor Amelia, so many changes for she a small baby. Here is a picture of Candy and Kevin's baby Ava, some of Amelia and I at Lucy's and the hotel.
I'M BOTH NOW!!!!
Paul and I want to wish our Mothers a very happy Mother's Day!!!!
We wish we were there to wish you one in person. There are a few things that I want to say to my mom and since this blog is about becoming a mother and father I thought it would be nice for everyone to read it.
Mom, you have been my biggest cheerleader my whole life. You have inspired me to follow my dreams. You have seen me through some very rough times, and I want you to know that I'm very blessed. But the biggest thank you that I can give to you for all you have done for me, is for introducing me to Jesus, making sure that I had faith in my life. I really don't think that I could have made the decisions that I have without God in my heart leading me, and he has. I remember all the nights as a little girl when I would wake you up and tell you that I couldn't sleep because one of my friends were mad at me, or one of my bad dreams scared me, yes even then I worried about everything, and you would tell me to pray and God would take care of it. That is the only thing that has helped me sleep at night. And God is helping me figure things out. Thank you for teaching me to love and cherish all of God's children. I hope that I can do the same for Amelia. I'm having Mother's Day with my daughter for the first time, and it's been amazing. She is ours because of you and Joyce. With help from Dad and Jim, I haven't forgot everything you all have done this is just a tribute to the Mom's.
Joyce, you have welcomed me in your family with open arms. You have made me feel like a part of it. I know you weren't sure about me with Shawn and Derrick at first. You helped me become a better mother to them. As a grandmother, I understand how difficult it must have been to watch me make mistakes and keep your mouth shut. I don't know that I will be able to do that. We are so much alike in so many ways. We cry together because we are so emotional. We are very vocal in our opinions. But it works for us. We know where we stands with one another. You have raised a wonderful son, who has given me so much love and wisdom. He is my sole mate. I want you to know that I have always loved him, but even I have been taken back with the way he has been in China. I have even more respect for him then I did before this trip.
Thanks to our mom's for making us the people we are today.
Happy Mother's Day to my sister's and my friends, you have been so wonderful in helping my dream of being a mother come true.
Here are pictures of Guangzhou and of course Amelia.
Love to all
Some of the things that people are asking about are how big sheis, and what she is able to do. Amelia felt like she weighed 20 lbs when we held her compared, but when we went to the medical examination today we found out she is only 14 1/2 pounds. She is wearing 6 to 9 month clothes and they are a little big on her. She is 25 inches long. She has been wearing size 2 diapers and they fit perfect. She doesn't like tummy time because of the walker that the Chinese people keep them in. So she doesn't crawl or sit up by herself. We are working on that. She wants to straighten out when we try go sit her up against something. So the battle begins on who is more head strong she or I. She is eating everything I get near her mouth so we are waiting for that to slow down. The couples that have been through this before tell us that it will slow down in a couple of days. Everyone that we have ran into has a story to tell about their baby. From, she has been sick and in the hospital to she is having trouble with bonding and crying all the time, to when will I bond with her. I have to say, I have a very healthy happy baby. She is bonding to us very well. She has started to cry when she can't see us, and wants to be held. I don't know if it's the change in our hotel room or if she is doing what she is supposed to do, but I'm so lucky to have her. We don't have a bad story when it comes to Amelia, and I can't believe it. I will post some picture tomorrow of this place so you can see the resort that we are staying in. We are able to get out so much more that I'm not able to get as many pictures posted as before. We are off to do dinner so I will catch up later.
We left Amelia's Province today to go to our final stop, Guangzhou. The flight went well with Millie. She took time to go to the bathroom for the first time. Which was very strong to smell, if you know what I mean. She also proceeded to squeal for about half the flight which only made all of the Chinese women laugh and touch her all the more than they already do. But Guangzhou is beautiful, so much different than Jiangxi. It is more for the tourist attractions, and that's fine by me. We didn't get out of the hotel much in her Province except to Walmart and the park. There just wasn't much to do. Not that I felt up to much, but knowing there was something to do is better than nothing at all. When we went out on the streets in Jiangxi the women would follow me around and tell me to cover up Millie. They would not leave it alone. One lady tried to take her out of the stroller and when she noticed that she was strapped in I think she started to yell at me. They would rub my arms if I had on short sleeves and shake their heads no. They do not wear short sleeves or shorts until dead summer. It was quite interesting to watch them tell me how to take care of Millie. She would start her charming little personality and smile and laugh at them and then they would not leave her alone. So when we got to Guangzhou I expected the same but most of the people here are adopting just like us. The place we went to for dinner was american food. Lucy's was by the river, so beautiful and nice, I almost felt like I was back in the states. Candy, our friends that have traveled with us, and I are ready to come home. She and I have the look in our eyes, we are tired and want to have fimilar surroundings again. But we are trying to embrace this time for our daughters. Ava, her daughter is so cute, she is 2 and loves her mommy. Millie likes to scream at her but Ava doesn't seem to care for it. So when we left Lucy's Paul was holding Millie on his way back to the hotel while I stopped to get water for bottles. About 10 minutes after I thought he already left, I walked out of the store and found women all around him with Millie in their arms. They had taken her from him and Paul said, I didn't know what to do. They wanted to hold her. He's a sucker for the Asian women. So I think we are going to enjoy this part of the trip. We are almost there at the end. Then we get to come home. I need some rest so I will catch you up later.
The Gift of Life I didn't give you the gift of life,But in my heart I know, The love I feel is deep and real, As if it had been so. For us to have each other Is like a dream come true! No, I didn't give you The gift of life, Life gave me the gift of you. --- Unknown
Amelia has come to us through Lily and we are so grateful to her for that. With a heavy heart we are in love with our new baby girl. She is 9 months old and very active. If you know my niece Reese, just put a black wig on her and that's Amelia. She is smiling and playing she is still not too sure about us all the time but she getting there. She slept all night and eats like a pig. I can't wait for you to see her. She is our sweetie pie. I will post more later, but we are going to the porcelain shop today. Thanks to all of you for your prayer and words, we wouldn't have had the strength to do this without you.
Hello everybody. This is Jill posting a message for Sandy and Paul. Sandy has asked me to update the layout of the blog for her. She found it too painful to get on the blog she had created specifically for Lily. I have made some changes that she asked me to make. I know I have not done as good of a job as she would herself. But, I did the best I could with the limited conversation we have been able to have about it. She asked me to change it in order to still honor Lily and I hope I have done that for her. We all love Lily very much and we hope she gets the care she needs. Sandy has been a guardian angel to Lily. Thanks to Sandy and Paul, Lily will get the special care she has been needing for quite some time now.
Sandy and Paul have been presented with an opportunity to adopt a little girl while they are in China. After meeting with her, they decided to proceed with the adoption. I will let her give you all the details when she has time. But we wanted to let you know why the look of the blog has changed dramatically.
As some of you know we received Tong Min Meng, and Paul had suspensions that something serious was wrong due to her acting like a new born baby. She couldn't hold her head up and wasn't very responsive to us. Without going into all of the problems we became aware of we were advised to take her for an evaluation at the children's hospital. We have been through an emotional roller coaster with finding that her medical condition is very serious. She has mental and physical needs that Paul and I can't meet. Our heart is torn apart once again as we had to turn her over to get her the attention that she needs. With much thought and emotions we are considering a new referral but we aren't sure if we can go through this any more. We want you all to know that we have to make a decision that only we can live with. I'm at a loss for words for what to say to everyone that has supported us. We couldn't do this without you and hope you will pray for the baby we just had to give up. We should hear something about the new baby and then make our decision when we get to that point. We may come home with just Paul and I. I'm praying for answers and peace with our decision.
Sincerely,
Paul and Sandy
We are going to the Great Wall and Summer Palace today. Yesterday was a lot of walking and I think today is going to be more. We had a great time at the Olympic park, this is a holiday week for the Chinese and Beijing is packed. We are getting people that want their picture taken with us because we are foreigners. Seems weird to have your picture taken with a perfect stranger but we are going with it. Our tour guide says this might be the first time they have ever seen an American. Wow. Just to let you all know we have managed to fry my flat iron, and as much as I have looked for a new one, they are scarce. Then I started thinking that the Chinese probably don't have to straighten their hair very often. So my hair really is getting wild. Sorry Lily all of our pictures are going to be of me looking like the 80's... Glasses are not an option at this point. I have to wear them. I'll try to post tonight when we get back from the Great Wall. I had some news on Lily. We won't be getting to meet her until Monday, not sure why but thats what our representative said yesterday. One more day without her.
