tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80608305081262739692024-03-12T22:21:02.836-05:00A LITTLE PINK IN OUR HOUSE OF BLUEAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218498623268599702noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-32656556854975620332014-05-10T22:14:00.001-05:002014-05-10T22:25:02.721-05:00Happy Birth Mother's Day!<span class="null"></span><br />
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<span class="null"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lFKxzeQ3T7Y/U27iseiSP3I/AAAAAAAAAFg/3uHnBAHUey0/s1600/charlottefield14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lFKxzeQ3T7Y/U27iseiSP3I/AAAAAAAAAFg/3uHnBAHUey0/s1600/charlottefield14.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></div>
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I don't know your name, what you look like or even where you live. I don't know these things about you but, I do know our daughter has an amazing smile, the most beautiful Chinese eyes and a stubborn determination and drive like I have never seen before...all traits I am convinced she inherited from you. <br />
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If I could talk to you today, I would want you to know first that she is happy & healthy & has 3 brothers and a mom & dad who absolutely adore her! She was an answer to much prayer and we promise to always remember that the answer to our prayers also came with loss & heartbreak. I can't imagine how you feel, but we pray that you will somehow just know that she is well and have a peace about your decision.<br />
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I also want you to know that our daughter is a true girly girl, she loves anything pink or girly, she loves to sing at the top of her lungs making up songs as she goes, she is learning to write her name, she loves to play dress up & "do hair" and she has the sweetest, giving, affectionate & sassy soul ever! <br />
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Sometimes I imagine we are like 2 ships at sea. You carried our precious cargo (our daughter) for a short length of time but your journey was no less important. You carried her and gave her the gift of life. You brought her along for part of her journey that only you could carry her, then when it was my turn to carry our precious cargo; to take over in what you had started, I was able to nurture and love her like she is my own. We both had the same destination in mind: a happy & healthy baby girl but, it took both ships in order to get our precious cargo to that destination. Both of us loving this special girl who has connected us and captured both of our hearts.<br />
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HAPPY BIRTH MOTHERS DAY to Charlotte's birthmother! Because without her and her sacrifice I wouldn't be celebrating Mother's Day tomorrow with our 4th blessing; our baby girl. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218498623268599702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-16821723813827911392013-08-08T13:44:00.000-05:002013-08-08T13:44:01.149-05:00Our summer in pictures...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our mischievious girl! :)</div>
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Curious about everything! :)</div>
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Fun with cousins!</div>
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fun with brothers!</div>
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Will went to church camp! :) And is a SOPHOMORE this year! I can hardly believe it! Plus he won't let me take his photo any more...I caught him off guard for this one. </div>
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The last few photos were taken at the lake. We enjoyed swimming and having a picnic. :)<br />
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I love this photo of Ben. It shows off his personality well. So sweet & funny! My new 3rd grader!</div>
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My serious Drew who is going to be a 6th grader in a few days!</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">And our sweet Charlotte...who is excited to start pre-school in a few weeks. She will be going 2 days a week from 10-2:15 at Lakewood. (the same school that Drew & Ben go to) There is a speech therapist that will work with her (even though they don't really think she is behind in speech at all) & she really needs to have more time away from me. She is SUCH a mamas girl and won't hardly let me out of her sight. She still has alot of anxiety about not being with me. I will miss her so much but, I know this is what she needs.</span><br />
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Looking forward to an AWESOME start to the school year! </div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00218498623268599702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-12870156058999658742013-07-09T17:57:00.004-05:002013-07-10T18:47:05.910-05:00Wherever you go, I go!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It has been a little over a year and half since we came home from China with our baby girl, Charlotte. It has been a crazy ride at times during these past 18 months, BUT, we have seen Charlotte grow and change and become much more secure. It has been amazing to watch this growth in her! The very scared little girl that we brought home has become a talkative, sassy and confident little princess!</div>
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She is a total girly girl! Her favorite color is PINK (of course!) and she is very opinionated about what she wants to wear! She has an attitude, is very stubborn and determined and we wouldn't want her any other way! She needs that personality to be able to handle her 3 older brothers! :) </div>
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Our little diva!</div>
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The little girl who wouldn't go to bed without food or a cracker in her hand, now knows that she will never go to bed hungry again. The little girl who was constantly worried that I would leave her, now knows that I am never leaving her. I told her one day a few months ago that "Wherever you go, I go and wherever I go, you go!" and it really stuck with her. Now we repeat that to each other whenever she has any anxiety about mama leaving her. </div>
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She walks around with a confidence these days and is constantly singing all day long. "Jesus Loves Me" is one of her favorite songs and below is a video of her singing it. She is still fairly shy in front of people she doesn't know so, not many people get to see this spunky side of her. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/smUBNzro2vk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Lately, she and I have had many good talks about her being adopted and being from China. Now, when its just the two of us, she will say "Mama, let's talk about China" with a sweet little smile on her face. She loves to hear about us getting on an airplane to go to China and about us meeting her and her crying and being scared of her Baba. She laughs now when I tell her that...she ADORES her Baba! </div>
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I'm not sure if she remembers our time in China or, just remembers me telling her about it. But, I asked her recently what I had given her when she came into our room to meet us and she responded that I had given her a sucker. So, maybe she does remember some. We talk about "China mama" (her foster mother) and how she loved her until mommy and daddy could get there and sometimes she asks to see a picture of China mama. </div>
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In the past, when we would talk about China, I noticed that the next few days she would be clingy and insecure, as if remembering her time in China all over again, each time we talked about it together. The last couple of months that has not happened and I am thankful. I want her to always know that she is adopted and about China and for that to never scare or shock her. And even more importantly that she knows that God has always loved her and always will...and I think she knows both now! PRAISE THE LORD!</div>
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At church I taught her & the other kids in my class to say "God Loves Me" in sign language. A few days ago I saw her saying and signing it for the first time, all by herself, without any prompting. She had no idea that I was watching, but, it was the sweetest thing I had ever seen! To see our little girl, that came from half way around the world to join our family, understand about the love of our Lord...well it was some thing I had always dreamed she would understand. </div>
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Charlotte (3 1/2) and Ben (8) at Kentucky Lake</div>
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We are at a good place but, it has taken us a year and half to get here. We have loved her all along but, now she finally "gets it" and knows we aren't going anywhere. She is such a joy to us and her brothers and honestly, anyone that meets her. She is our little walking and talking advocate for adoption! Which is ironic because when we started contemplating adopting I always thought I wanted a child that "looked like us" because, I thought it would be easier on the child. <br />
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God really convicted me of that one day in Target of all places! I was sitting at the snack bar when in walked a beautiful little family with 3 little boys who were obviously very Caucasian and 1 little girl who was obviously very Asian. God convicted me right then and there that why wouldn't I want to have my child not look like me?? Everyone that looks at our family, probably knows that Charlotte is adopted but, God showed me that it could be a very positive thing! We have seen that to be true as it has prompted many conversations with complete strangers. Yes, she IS a walking, talking advocate for adoption and we couldn't be prouder of her and that she doesn't look like us is an unexpected blessing.</div>
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So what is in store for Miss Charlotte next? She needs another surgery next spring. :( Her doctor at Vanderbilt will take some cartilage out of her ribs and use it to do a graft in her nose. Because she is missing cartilage in one side of her nose, it makes it difficult for her to breath out of that side of her nose. It is a big surgery and I don't look forward to it. Our doctor said to plan on her being in the hospital a week, so, we want to plan it while the boys are still in school to make things easier. After this surgery, she probably won't have another surgery until she is around age 10 or 12 for her bone graft. YIPPEE! It is hard to see her go through these surgeries, these dental procedures and everything she has had to go through but, I quickly remind myself that God made her and this is the hand she was dealt. It isn't suppose to be easy to see your child suffer...it wasn't for God to see Jesus suffer! We just have to go through it with her and love her through it...and that's an easy job!</div>
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Her cleft lip & palate is something I totally forget about at times, especially in between doctor appointments. She may have been labeled "special needs" in China but, she certainly isn't to us at all. She has never had to have any speech therapy and overall has been very lucky/blessed when it comes to her cleft surgeries. I would not hesitate to adopt another child with cleft lip/palate! I shudder to think about the blessings we would have missed if we had let the fear of the unknown and her special need keep us from taking the adoption leap of faith. It is a leap of faith and it is scary but, anything worth having usually is. God orchestrated us being matched with the perfect child for our family and for that I will always be in awe.</div>
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Charlotte and Hen-wee (Henry) her best fwend! (friend)</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">I had always heard that a child needs to home as long as they were in an orphanage or a foster family in order to feel really secure. I am finding that true. Every single day I see that she is just blossoming and becoming more and more secure. We have very little insecurities we are dealing with now, except the anxiety of going to the dentist which is normal for all she has been through.</span></div>
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So, even though we don't believe we will be adopting again, sadly mainly because of the cost. We do know that if God convicts us to adopt again, He will provide and we will be obedient. For now, we are loving our 4 little blessings and I try to evaluate every day what we are doing to make this world a better place for someone else and what more can I do? I ask you to do the same...What are you doing for someone else who is less fortunate? I will always have a heart for orphans in China & will constantly be praying & doing all I can for them half way across the world. I think I left part of my heart in China and, I will never be the same after having been there. I look forward to the day I can return there with Charlotte & we can make a difference together there...one day!</div>
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In the meantime, every night I get to hear "Mommy? You know what? I love you!" I am SO BLESSED!<br />
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P.S. I plan on taking the time to update my blog more often so, stayed tuned!</div>
Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-92196404676945257932012-09-21T17:04:00.001-05:002012-09-21T17:04:13.778-05:00Recent Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-6817523085735338162012-08-11T11:32:00.001-05:002012-08-11T13:13:06.203-05:00SurgeryWell we arrived at the hospital around 10 a.m. and we were exhausted. Charlotte decided to cut a molar the night before her surgery and was up from 1:30 a.m.. It was THE WORST nights sleep we have had since having her...we could tell it was hurting her but, because of her having surgery we <br />
couldn't even give her tylenol or advil. :( Poor baby!<br />
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Waiting to be called back to pre-op.</div>
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They took us back and we got her in her hospital pajamas and we waited. They were at first reluctant to give us the "silly juice" saying they try not to use it if they don't have to. Once the anethesiologist came in to talk to us, he realized he wasn't going to get her away from us easily so, he actually suggested we use the "silly juice"...I was so relieved! We gave it to her and waited....<br />
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She got those cute little yellow pajamas on.</div>
<br />About 15 minutes later they came to the door and asked if we thought she was ready. I gave them her little doll (the little doll you sent her Amber! :)) and she wanted it, so, she reluctantly reached for it and the nurse quickly took her in her arms. She started saying "Mama, mama, I want mama!" over and over again. I kept hearing that phrase repeated until she & the nurse were out of sight. :( So, the "silly juice" didn't work as well as I had hoped. The nurses did say because of the silly juice though, that she would have no memory of leaving me.<br />
<br />They had told us the surgery would last an hour. After about an hour though, we got a call from the operating room that they had just finished removing the cutis aplaysia and were now getting started on her lip. About an hour later, they called to say they were still working on her lip and not to worry, that Dr. Kelly is a perfectionist and likes to take his time. After about 2 1/2 hours, I was starting to freak out a bit. FINALLY, after 3 hours, they called to say they were done and that the doctor would be out to talk to us soon.<br />
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He said the surgery went well. They had removed some tissue when they had done her lip repair in China so he ended up doing more than he had originally intended to repair her lip. She also had what he called "track marks" on her upper lip. He removed them and made the middle part of her lip not as wide which he thinks will look better.<br />
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About 30-45 minutes later we were called back to see her in recovery. We had asked beforehand to go back as soon as we could, because we didn't want her to have any anxiety about not seeing us when she woke up. Thankfully, we got back there before she even woke up. She was in the little crib and just laying there sound asleep. I picked her up and started rocking her. I rocked her about an hour before she really woke up and she was not really agitated at all...just out of sorts. I was so thankful for that!<br />
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We were able to come home that day because, she had done so good and because she didn't get naseous after the surgery. If she had, we would have had to stay the night in the hospital but, she was the best patient ever! The nurses said Dr. Kelly NEVER lets anyone go home the same day. :)<br />
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Since coming home she has been VERY demanding and GROUCHY but, who wouldn't be given all she has been through this week? We go back Monday to get any stitches out that have not dissolved.<br />
She is still very restless and demanding but, we are weaning her off of the pain meds and replacing it with advil and she seems more like herself, so that is good. She will have to wear the no no's for 3 weeks and soft foods for 3 weeks as well. Surprisingly, neither have been as big of a deal with her as I had imagined. They had the no no's on her before we even got back in recovery. She asked to take them off twice the first day and we just said no and distracted her. So far, she is loving her jello, soup & pudding diet too. :) <br />
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Thank you so much for praying for her! Please continue to pray for her in the coming weeks...that she continues to be such a good patient and that we can keep her from falling or hurting her lip while it is healing.
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Love,Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-37355358691849657922012-08-07T10:50:00.002-05:002012-08-07T11:31:06.930-05:00Surgery tomorrowTomorrow Charlotte will have surgery to remove the cutis aplaysia on the back of her head & a lip revision at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville. Her surgeon Dr Kelly, is an awesome surgeon but, I have mixed feelings about the surgery. I hate to put her through this...she is so confident and happy right now and I look at her and think "oh I can't do this!" I think her lip looks great and I hesitate to put her through that part of the surgery but, he knows how her lip will look in the long run and this is his specialty and ultimately I just have to trust him. <br />
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When we saw him back in December 2011, when we had first gotten home with her, he told us we would need to do surgery to remove her actutis aplaysia but, we decided to wait & see until now to combine the 2 surgeries.<br />
<br />What is cutis aplaysia? <br />
<a href="http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/Disease.aspx?PageID=4&diseaseID=5835">http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/Disease.aspx?PageID=4&diseaseID=5835</a><br />
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Her surgery is scheduled for noon tomorrow and we expect it to be outpatient surgery. She will have to wear arm no no's and have liquids & soft foods for 3 weeks. When she first came home, she had alot of anxiety about food. So one of my worries is that this will set us back to having some of those issues. Also the no no's are NOT going to be fun for our opinionated & strong willed girl. <br />
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So, please keep us all in your prayers tomorrow.<br />
<br />Prayer needs:<br />
1) That Charlotte goes to sleep easily with the "silly juice" & then that we are able to hand her over to the doctors so that she won't have as much anxiety.<br />
2) That pain management would be good.<br />
3) That the surgeon would have a clear mind and be able to focus on her surgery to give her the best possible outcome & surgery possible.<br />
4) That there would be no complications during surgery or after....and no excessive bleeding.<br />
5) That Jason & I would have peace about the surgery and can comfort her quickly after surgery.<br />
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Now onto some GREAT news...we are also taking our friends Stacey & Chris Daniels to the Nashville International Airport TOMORROW. They are finally on their way to get their baby girl, Airlie who is 3 years old in China. I am SO EXCITED for them and we cannot wait to meet Miss Airlie. Airlie is 5 months older than Charlotte & we think they are going to be fast friends. Helping them get ready for their trip has really kept my mind off of Charlottes surgery and their family has already been such a blessing to our family. So, please join me in praying for them on their adoption journey... below is a link to their adoption blog.<br />
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<a href="http://www.awaitingairlie.blogspot.com/">http://www.awaitingairlie.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Sincerely,<br />
<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-40452207613764761892012-08-03T17:45:00.000-05:002012-08-03T17:45:09.011-05:00A package all the way from ChinaWe received a package from Charlottes foster family in China this week! :) I knew it was coming but, honestly I wasn't sure if it would make it here, given the inpredictable mail in China. Plus they had said it could take up to 3 months to arrive. I was so excited to open it. They had sent some of her favorite clothing, some of which were cute split pants. :) They included some of her favorite snacks-strawberry cakes and 2 cute stuffed animals. One of the animals is from a popular China cartoon named "The Pleasant Goat" and the pink bunny we had sent her in a care package back in April of 2011. We have several photos of her with it so, this is very special and we are very thankful that sent it to us. She hugged them tight after we opened the package. :)<br />
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What was one of my favorite things in the box? The photo below. I had been told that her foster family is so poor that they didn't have a camera so, they had no photos of Charlotte besides the ones I had sent. This photo means the world to me..just to have a photo with the 2 of them together. :) And the phot album Charlotte is holding in her hand in the photo, is a photo album we sent her back in April 2011 along with the bunny. To be able to see this woman holding our girl. This woman in rural China, who didn't have much, had given SO MUCH of herself to a little girl who had no one and would one day become our daughter....well the photo just brought me to tears. I will never be able to portray in words just how thankful I am for her. One day I hope to be able to tell her in person just how thankful I am for her. <br />
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I thought I had gone through everything in the box but, then I found a disc so I put it into my computer. There were 75 photos of her foster mom & brother AND a 6 minute video of them talking to us & Charlotte. I had no idea we would ever get a video. This was the most emotional part for me. I won't post it here because I want it to be special for Charlotte and it has some very personal information for Charlotte to hear one day. But, her foster brother was so cute and positive and her foster mom too. She broke down in one part of the video and went on to explain that she loved and missed Xia Xia very much but, that she was so thankful to Xia Xia's Mama and Baba and that she would love to meet us one day. It was so obvious that she was very loved! And I pray we can save our money and take Charlotte back in the next several years. Something I wouldn't have thought we would be doing so soon but, I want us to go back within the next 5 years, if at all possible, so, we can meet and talk with them. Shoot, if I was a millionaire I would go back next month! :) But God's timing is perfect. <br />
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Miss Charlotte is doing so good these days. She used to be right.by.my.side. like ALL OF THE TIME! She still is most of the time BUT, she has started going to her brothers rooms to play with them and not having to be with me everywhere. This is big for her. <br />
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Charlotte with her Ge Ge's...she has on her "Made in China" shirt! too cute!</div>
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We had a sweet friend of ours take some professional photos of Charlotte </div>
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and I think they turned out beautiful and that she captured her personality so well. </div>
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This is a photo of Charlotte in her baby dedication outfit. It looked so beautiful on her. </div>
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She also took a great photo of the kids together. Will 14, Drew 11, Ben 8 & Charlotte 2<br />
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We've bene blessed with some wonderful friends that have also adopted from China. Vicki & her husband, Roger live in Benton, Kentucky (about 45 minutes from us) and they have 3 grown sons and adopted Molly Kate in 2011 & just got home with Callie Beth. We really enjoy getting the girls together as they are are just a few months apart in age and they LOVE each other. So thankful for their friendship!<br />
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Callie Beth, Charlotte & Molly Kate</div>
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Things I want to remember:</div>
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-Charlottes English has really come a long way.. I think she is probably not far behind kids her age that have spoken English since birth yet, she still holds on to some of her Mandarin. Of course there are just a few words I for sure recognize..Nay Nay (Grandma), Mei Mei (little sister), Guo Guo (big brother) and one I haven't heard her use until just recently is Ni Hao (hello!) </div>
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-She has a love/hate relationship with Will. LOL! They can pick on each other and then the next second they are so loving to each other. A few nights recently she has wanted to sleep with him in his bed. She made this clear over and over again at bed time saying "I want Will!" )</div>
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-She and Ben are the most loving to each other. I think because he more gentle with her, she is really affectionate with him and she definitely likes to be in the same room with her Ben at all times.</div>
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-She and Drew well...he picks on her and she does not like it and boy does she let him know. </div>
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-She still ADORES her Baba and has figured out how to call him all by herself on my phone. LOL!</div>
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-Charlotte will say "bad Drew" or "bad Ben" when she gets mad at them. LOL!</div>
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-She calls her foster mom "mama China" right now. I started trying to get her to say "China mama" but she just keeps reversing it. I think its cute!</div>
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-She is so outgoing. My niece Laura was practicing for a pageant yesterday and after she got done, she asked if Charlotte wanted to practice. She said "yes, but mama camera!" She wanted to do it but, she wanted to make sure I would take a photo! LOL! She pretended to walk out like Laura had but, she was waving and blowing kisses...it was so funny, yet cute! LOL!</div>
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Please pray for us this next week. On Wednesday, Charlotte will have a lip revision surgery & a surgery to remove the acutis aplaysia from the back of her head. I am nervous about the surgery and her recovery. She will be on liquids, then soft foods for 3 weeks as well as having to wear her arm no no's. This should be very intersting but, our girl is so strong and brave and I know God has been with her each step of the way.</div>
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Much Love, </div>
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<br /></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-23138482367733256372012-07-01T19:43:00.001-05:002012-07-01T20:00:15.193-05:00An unexpected blessing!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3DnkCCn3-wI/T_DnY83RoxI/AAAAAAAACZY/iiHQi6S4xxo/s1600/6monthshome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="492" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3DnkCCn3-wI/T_DnY83RoxI/AAAAAAAACZY/iiHQi6S4xxo/s640/6monthshome.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Charlotte has been home 7 months now and wow, how she has changed in just the last 2 months! <br />
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-She is talking so well now! Those that know me, know I tell my kids a 1,000 times a day that I love them...well, now she can clearly say "I love you too!" which is music to this mamas ears!<br />
-She is potty trained again! YIPPEE! (she was potty trained when we got her but she regressed when we got home)<br />
-She made her 1st trip to the ocean and she LOVED it! She was just the right amount afraid of the ocean but, when we went out with her she was ok and she loved playing in the sand.<br />
-She is counting to 5 with a show of her fingers.<br />
-She can give high fives and fist bumps thanks to her brothers!<br />
-She is becoming even more vocal about getting her way when the boys get on her nerves! :)<br />
-She learned to sing "Happy Birthday" to me on my birthday all on her own and sings it to us quite often now. :)<br />
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Now onto some very exciting news...<br />
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Several months ago I was on the yahoogroup for the province our Charlotte is from. There was a post saying that a family was taking their daughter back to China for a heritage tour and that the guide they had hired, wanted to see if other families might want her to help them while she was in Gansu province. I immediately thought this would be an awesome opportunity for us to look for Charlotte's foster family. My husband on the other hand was leary....He just wasn't sure he wanted to know. I think it just scared him. So, I emailed the guide to first of all, see if we could afford to do this and secondly, to see what the specifics would be. The good news was that because 4 families were wanting her help we would all split the cost and our portion would only be a couple hundred dollars. So reluctantly, hubby agreed we would see what information she could find.<br />
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I was really scared to be optimistic because, I didn't want to get disappointed. I did send about 30 pictures of our family to the guide so she could share them with the foster family IF she was able to locate them. The week before she was to leave for Wuwei, she emailed me saying she might not be able to find out much info because the contact she had talked to several months agoe was not going to be there when she traveled. :( I put it out of my mind and figured we wouldn't find anything out.<br />
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Imagine my surprise, when I woke up to an email a week later, that said she had not only found Charlotte's foster family but, that she was sitting with them at that very moment! She said our baby girl was LOVED! The worry you have before you travel of not knowing what your child has gone through and knowing our girl now, I just knew she had to be cherished by someone there. The email said "they gave me much more information than I expect. they love Xia Xia more than you can image. the foster mom cried a lot when she talked about your daughter, she is so sweet mom. Xia Xia is their favorite child." ;) Baby girl you ARE loved and you WERE LOVED all along! ;) ;) What a gift to know this!<br />
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We have received 3 photos so far of the foster family. Jason and I were very anxious to see how Charlotte would respond to seeing their photos. That night, Jason and I sat on the couch with Charlotte in my lap and pulled up a photo of them on my computer. I asked her "who is that?" She got her shy/embarrassed look on her face and buried her head in my leg. I kept asking her but, she would never respond. She would just sit there looking at the photo with a shy smile on her face. I finally said "Is that mama?" She pointed to the photo and said "yes, mama!" She had this content smile on her face and it just made me happy to be able to put the pieces together for her.<br />
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I've had the chance to talk to Charlotte several times this week about seeing "China mama's" photo and a few times she has come to the computer and motioned that she wanted to see the photo. :) Being able to see a more complete picture of where she came from has been such an eye opener for me. This family obviously loved/love her very much. They are VERY VERY poor but, they were able to show our daughter love and what a family is when we couldn't. Because they loved & cared for her, we have this amazing little girl in our family! We will be forever grateful!<br />
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Foster mom crying when seeing Charlotte in the photos I had sent.</div>
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Foster mom & brother</div>
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I am so happy and thankful for this opportunity to give her as much history & info as we can about her time in China. I think this all happened at the perfect time for us as well....God's timing IS always perfect! If we had found them earlier, I think it would have been harder for Charlotte to see their picture...but, at this point, she is bonded pretty well to us. And if we had waited any longer, I am afraid Charlotte would not have had any recollection of them.<br />
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So what does this mean for us? Well, we are doing our absolutely best to communicate frequently right now but, it is difficult. They don't understand English and I don't understand Mandarin so every email has to be translated and that takes time. Plus they are 14 hours ahead of us so, that makes things harder too. They do not have a computer so, the emails go to their foster sons phone and during the week he is at school. Please pray that our communication gets easier and that I am able to find someone long term that I can trust to translate their emails.<br />
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There is some information that was given to us through them, about Charlotte surgery that has me slightly worried. In a recent email I had mentioned that she was getting ready to have a minor surgery on her lip. This was their response through the guide... "by the way, since you mentioned Xia Xia is going to have another surgery on
aug/08. Foster mom escorted xiaxia for her both
surgery before. One surgery reall scared her--after surgery, Xia Xia was in big
bleeding!! she also died with such bleeding. that is why they worry about her so much when you mentioned about another
surgery." <br />
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So I ask that you join me in praying for clarification on this soon..... and that God would keep the line of communication open between us and the foster family. This has been such an unexpected blessing... connecting 2 families half way around the world, through our love for 1 little girl!<br />
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Love always,<br />
Xia Xia's 2nd mama!Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-26979175040326132072012-05-02T12:29:00.002-05:002012-05-02T12:29:39.929-05:00Things NOT to say to adoptive parents...I thought it might be helpful to talk about some things that have bene said to us in the last 5 months, since bringing Charlotte home, that we felt were not handled in the best way. These are things NOT to say to adoptive parents. And the reason I bring them up, is to educate everyone on what IS appropriate to say and to ask.<br />
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1) "Wow, she doesn't look like you! Does she look like her daddy?" <br />
Now clearly Charlotte IS adopted and this question totally caught me off guard. I think the Walmart checker that asked this knew that Charlotte was adopted but, this was her way of verifying that. Please, we would rather you just come on out and ask "Is your daughter adopted?" Talking about adoption is something we talk about all of the time in front of her.<br />
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2) "Oh, she is so cute.....I want one of those!" Please do not refer to my child as an object to "get"....like you could "get" her at the store. There is SO MUCH to the adoption process and lots of paperwork...it is not a simple thing.<br />
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3) "Where'd you get 'er? An older man walked up to us in a restaurant and this was the first thing out of his mouth. Now I understand wanting to know where she is adopted from but, this is NOT the way to ask it. I wanted to tell him the stork brought her, but I refrained. :) He went on to say "My cousin got one from Vietnam." UGH! I understand his intentions were probably nice so, I took it the way it was intended but, his wording was not the best.<br />
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4) "Wow, I would never take on anything like what you have in store with her teeth & cleft." REALLY? That's ok...but to us, her dental work & cleft issues have been really minor and most of the time, we forget all about them. She is not definded by them...she is just a precious child to love! <br />
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5) "She is just so blessed to be in America & have you as a family.." Yes she is...but, lets not forget this came with a price as well. She left everyone and every thing she knew. She left China not understanding English at all and that makes for a hard transition for any child. And, trust me, WE ARE THE BLESSED ONES....we get to love her. So try to understand that we believe we are both equally blessed....us to have her and her to have us.<br />
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I really don't think most of these people were meaning to be rude, they were probably just curious. I don't want to discourage anyone from approaching adoptive families. I simply want to educate on the best way to do that. The nicest way I have been asked about Charlotte was when I was in a local restaurant. An older lady approached me and said "Tell me about your beautiful daughter." This opened the door in a positive way to tell her what I felt appropriate and then she could ask any questions. <br />
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I love talking to people about Charlotte and about how we have been blessed through adoption so, I do not mind questions at all. And if you know someone that is thinking about adoption, or has questions, please tell them to contact me.<br />
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How could we not be blessed, seeing this sweet smile every day?!?!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PRs0PnH7Nx8/T6Fs7YT1YOI/AAAAAAAACMw/Rfzufk3MOI8/s1600/6033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PRs0PnH7Nx8/T6Fs7YT1YOI/AAAAAAAACMw/Rfzufk3MOI8/s320/6033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-21095179064000636802012-04-10T13:36:00.000-05:002012-04-10T16:45:48.721-05:00Happy 4 months home!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last 4 months have been surreal.... Charlotte fit into our family so easily. The biggest adjustment we have had to make is just going from a family of 5 to a family of 6. Having a toddler at home again has been an adjustment for me.....definitely no "me time" at all these days. BUT, oh what JOY this little girl has brought into our lives! We love her so much!<br />
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She definitely had had some insecurities in the last 4 months but, I would say after about 2 1/2 -3 months we saw some big progress. That is why we haven't done professional pictures of her until just recently. We tried earlier and we were able to get a decent picture for the adoption announcement but it was HARD! She was just still so insecure when going somewhere new & wanted me to hold her & not put her down. The picture in the top right corner was taken of her while I was holding her & I was cropped out thankfully. :)<br />
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She is now talking in English and putting 4-5 words together sometimes and it amazes me...she uses her manners and says "thank you mommy" every single time she needs to (without being reminded at all) and that is something I am still constantly working on with the boys even. She is just so thankful and sweet most of the time. <br />
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For any of you reading this and contemplating adoption....pray about it for your family but, I will tell you hands down it is one of the best things we have EVER DONE! Our lives are forever changed, for the better, by our Charlotte. <br />
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I am sitting here typing this with her asleep in my arms....yes I am spoiling her rotten! :) and I just can't get over how great our God is... to see how this 1 little girl out of thousands of orphans in China could not only have a loving home here in our little family but, that she would impact our lives and so many others for adoption ...I feel so blessed to be her mother.<br />
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Like I read somewhere recently...she might have been labeled "special needs" in China but, we just think she is "special!"<br />
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Sending you all much love!<br />
Kendra<br />
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You can click on any of these photos to see them larger.<br />
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We went in search of buttercups but, didn't find many; they bloomed so early this year. </div>
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We have had fun introducing Charlotte to extended family members. This is mom & Charlotte with Uncle Leon & Aunt Alivene in Jackson, TN.<br />
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Charlotte & Drew</div>
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Charlotte met Aunt Ronnie (my moms sister)& just loved her & immediately felt comfortable <br />
with her. I think the feeling was mutual. :)<br />
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The following are some of the first professional pictures we just had done of Charlotte. She did so well for the photographer! The photographer is Tammy Byars Holtman who lives in Florence, KY (Cincinnatti area) she grew up here (TN) and was coming back to visit family so it was a special treat for her to photograph Charlotte.<br />
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This sweet dress above was made by <a href="http:///">/</a><a href="http://www.redthreadstitches.com/">http://www.redthreadstitches.com/</a> and she makes some AMAZING things please, go check out her website! :)<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1Nu7OiD5K0/T4RtQZdEm0I/AAAAAAAACD8/5mDEpJ8LlN0/s1600/charbygate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1Nu7OiD5K0/T4RtQZdEm0I/AAAAAAAACD8/5mDEpJ8LlN0/s640/charbygate.jpg" width="426" /></a><br />
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About Charlottes clothes: I may have gone a tad crazy over her clothes but, I am LOVING it! Alot of her clothes I get at consignment sales (my sister has a large local sale twice a year) and then Gymboree and Zulilly are favorites as well. Some of the brands I like (like Persnickety) are expensive but, I usually wait until the end of the season sale and purchase then. :)</div>
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My Favorite Brands for Girl Clothes:</div>
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For cute casual clothes:</div>
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Gymboree & Mis Tee V Us</div>
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For adorable outfits & dresses:</div>
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Swanky Baby Vintage</div>
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Red Thread Stitches Clothing</div>
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Persnikety</div>
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Flit & Flitter</div>
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Strasburg</div>
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Biscotti</div>
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What are YOUR favorite brands of clothing for girls?</div>
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<br /></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-6257804166937640052012-02-14T20:57:00.001-06:002012-02-14T20:59:29.753-06:00Our journey to Charlotte1 year ago today, we found out a little girl in Wuwei, China would become our daughter. This video shows our journey over the last year. Please stop the music player at the bottom before watching the video.<br />
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<embed flashvars="&p=fec57b262c34c133790337&skin_id=1602&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" height="526" name="FLVPlayer" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" salign="LT" scale="noscale" src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=fec57b262c34c133790337" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600" wmode="transparent"></embed><br />
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<a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt5" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;">www.onetruemedia.com</span></a></div>
</div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-90963460457052897882012-01-25T15:56:00.000-06:002012-01-26T17:08:02.477-06:002 Months Home! :)Well it's been a fabulous 2 months home with our baby girl! She has come so far in the time we have had together. She has fit so easily into our family it seems like she has been here much longer. She is THE HAPPIEST little girl I have ever met. She continues to amaze us and everyone that has met her. It is almost like she knew what she didn't have and now that she does have these things, she is loving it and so appreciative and excited about everything! We all agree that adopting has definitely been one of the best decision we have EVER made! Seeing new things through her eyes has been so amazing and has made us appreciate each other and just life even more. She has brought our whole family together in a way I never imagined. :)<br />
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Some new things about Charlotte:</div>
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1) She loves all of her clothes. She is such a girly girl! When she puts on her clothes each day, she looks & calls for "Baba" to clap and smile and tell her she looks pretty. Then she is off to search for her brothers and wants them to clap too. It is so sweet!</div>
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2) She also loves shoes. Sit her in the floor with a pile of shoes and she will be busy trying on all the different shoes. :) </div>
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3) She is able to communicate very well. LOL! 1 night she was fussy and Ben and I were trying to sing her to sleep. She kept crying softly and we kept singing determined to get her to settle into sleep. Then she had had enough....she put her finger to her lip and loudly said "SHHHHH!" LOL!</div>
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4) I have gotten her to start saying "mama girl" and we all clap! She thinks it is fun so she says it often but, it comes out more like "mama, gul, gul"</div>
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5) She loves all food we have given her except grapes...it's like she doesn't like the texture and she spits them out after chewing them. She also is picky about her bananas...she only likes them if they are really ripe. </div>
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6) We haven't even attempted to get her to go to the potty again like she did when we were in China. We hope to try to re-introduce that in about a month. But now, sometimes she will just bust out in tears when she poops. It is like she thinks she might be in trouble for pooping in her diaper. I just tell her "it's ok, it's ok" and give her a hug. Makes me wonder if she had gotten spanked or disciplined for not going in the potty. :(</div>
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7) When asked she will point out her hair, feet, ears, nose, hands, & belly. We are working on her mouth & eyes. :)</div>
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8) She is facinated by any family pictures of us. She will hold them and take them every where with her. She especially likes the first family photo a friend of mine took on the night we arrived back in the U.S. </div>
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9) She does continue to have night terrors occassionally. Mainly when she is overly tired or if she is somewhere unfamiliar to her. She had one of the worst nights ever (3 night terrors in 1 night) when we went to visit my sister in St Louis. This was our first trip with her and the first time for her to sleep anywhere besides our house. </div>
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10) She loves music and jewelry! :) She happily dances any time she hears music and she loves her bracelet that Meemaw (my mom) got her, pointing it out to everyone! :) </div>
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Right after Christmas, Jason's parents & sister were able to come for a visit. Charlotte took up with them fairly quickly. Letting Shelby & Riley paint her nails and helping Grammy feed Sadie (their dog). I think it was unanimous that they too thought Charlotte was doing really well adjusting to her new family who loves her very much! :)</div>
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L-R Drew, Grammy, Charlotte, Riley, Granddaddy, Ben & in the back are Shelby & Will</div>
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Charlotte LOVES her brothers! When we drop them off in the mornings at school they start pointing to the school and them and saying goodbye to her. She has now started pointing to herself and then the school....she wants to go to Lakewood too! :) She cries for just a few seconds every day when they get out but, then its mommy & Charlotte time.</div>
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She LOVES to play peekaboo!</div>
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We have had a couple of play dates with some of our new friends that are also adopted from China. Adoption is such a special thing and sharing that with 2 new friends I have met has been awesome! It is so nice to hear from someone that is a little further along & experienced in the adoption journey. Ms Macy (on the left) lives in McKenzie, about 20 mins away, with her parents & 2 brothers & Ms Molly Kate (on the right of Charlotte) lives in Benton, KY, about 45 minutes away, with her mom & dad & she has 3 grown brothers & a sister that is waiting China to come home probably in June of this year! :) And the cute boy in the photo is Macy's little brother Brody. :)<br />
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She has this sweet, serious look on her face sometimes....love it! Sometimes I just wonder what you are thinking baby girl!<br />
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Charlotte has a LOVE for my camera. She wants to hold it which I don't want her to do! Now she comes up when she sees me with my camera and starts grunting and pointing which means she wants it. :) So cute but, not gonna happen Charlotte. I need to get her a play camera.<br />
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This is her excited/laughing look. She normally gets big eyes with a look like "oh my goodness" and then she covers her mouth as she starts her giggles. :) So cute!</div>
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DeeDee could hardly wait for a nice day to take Charlotte on her 1st gator ride! :) He thought it might gain him some popularity from her....well not so much. She did like the gator ride alot though. Poor DeeDee wants her to sit in his lap so badly but, she just won't have it yet. She does really well bonding with anyone that can get down in the floor and play with her but, he just physically can't. In time I know she will let him hold her.<br />
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Sweet baby girl we love you so much and can't imagine life without you! This is her smirk! :)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2TB9vAEehSE/Tx8rPB8X_VI/AAAAAAAAByQ/aCg1CuFz4LE/s1600/138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2TB9vAEehSE/Tx8rPB8X_VI/AAAAAAAAByQ/aCg1CuFz4LE/s320/138.jpg" width="320" /></a>r</div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-22474522757896481622012-01-02T16:38:00.002-06:002012-01-02T16:46:16.318-06:00Happy New Year! How can it ever compare to 2011!?!?Sorry I haven't posted as much since we have been home. I have been sick twice and Jason was sick once and with the holidays....let's just say it has been C-R-A-Z-Y! :)<br />
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Charlotte loved her first Christmas! She quickly got the hang of opening gifts. Every time she would open a gift, she would get a shocked look on her face and she would ohhh and ahhh! : It was SO CUTE! She got the hang of unwrapping so well that later I caught her opening her cousins gift upstairs! LOL!<br />
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The picture on the right is of her ohhhhing and awwing when she opened each gift. :)</div>
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Things have been going amazingly well. I am in awe of how this little girl has adjusted. We love her so much and it is so hard to believe she has only been home 1 month! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at <a href="mailto:mccfamily5@bellsouth.net">mccfamily5@bellsouth.net</a> I would love to help others on their adoption journey. <br />
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When we started looking into Lanzhou & Wuwei, we found there really isn't much information available and certainly not many pictures. So I am working on getting our picutes downloaded to an online site to share with those that might be interested. If you have any questions, about Lanzhou or Wuwei, please feel free to email me too.<br />
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<strong><u>Things about Charlotte lately:</u></strong><br />
-Her vocabulary is growing and now she is putting 2 words together. Examples: No Will, STOP Will, Love you, Go Baba etc... along with mama, Drew, Ben, Will which comes out more like "ill" LOL! :) She will also try to repeat everything I ask her to say if there is not a big crowd around.<br />
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-She has had a couple more night terrors but, I think it was due to new people being around (Jason's parents & sister came to meet her) and just being out of routine. I feel so helpless when this happens though. There is no consoling her and she seems so scared. :(<br />
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-She LOVES to be outside & will cry and point to the door to go out. Unfortunately, the weather has been unpredictable so we aren't always able to go out. She loves her swingset!<br />
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-She is OVERLY affectionate now and we are LOVING that! This started right after we got home. She will pucker her lips & point to them, wanting to kiss whoever she is looking at. We are a VERY affectionate family but, I don't think she had been used to this much affection at all...but you can tell she loves it! :)<br />
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-I am always telling her "I love you!" in kind of a sing songy way, and she has started telling me "love you". So cute! She hasn't said it on her own yet, just after I say it first but, it melts this mamas heart!<br />
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-She can do the splits which really shocked us. :) So I think she would do well with gymnastics and, I am planning to start a mommy & me class with her soon.<br />
<br />-She loves her clothes. Every morning, she gets a huge smile on her face as she holds up her clothes. <br />
<br />-She loves her hairbows. If I forget to put in a hairbow or it has fallen out, she will bring me 5 or 6 and motion to do pigtails. :)<br />
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-She is very easy going. She has adjusted to her car seat now and when I tell her "wanna go somewhere with mama?" She gets excited and definitely wants to go.<br />
<br />-She seems to love all of the boys equally now and they just ADORE her too! I think the new might be wearing off a tad bit though, thankfully. :) Drew cried one day this week because she likes their Legos and they forget to put them up so, she has destroyed a couple of their creations...oops! He asked if he could spank her for getting into the Legos...ugh no I don't think so. :P I told him he just has to learn to put them up out of her reach. They haven't been used to a toddler so this is new to them. :)<br />
<br />-This girl LOVES to eat. I think food must have not been readily available to her. It seems sometimes that she can't get full. At night, as we are getting into bed, she will sometimes motion she is hungry. We haven't noticed any other food issues except that she doesn't seem to be have eatten much meat before at all. So we have had to slowly introduce chicken and especially beef.<br />
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-She repeats motions of people that are around her. Like, we were in the car with my niece and she had her leg propped up on her other leg and her arms crossed. Charlotte did the same thing. :) When she would change positions, she would try and mimick that position as well. funny girl!<br />
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-She went on her first John Deere Gator ride with DeeDee on December 30th and boy did she LOVE it!<br />
<br />-She met Jason's parents & his sister & nieces on December 27th. It took her a while for her to warm up to them but, she really had some fun with them while they were here.<br />
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Christmas morning...look at that hair! Bedheads! :)</div>
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She liked her Little Tikes roller coaster!</div>
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Opening her Baby Be Blessed Doll. We picked out the scripture for her doll. :) </div>
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She did NOT like Santa at all! </div>
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More of her opening gifts! She was so cute! :) </div>
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Wishing you a very blessed New Year for 2012 from our family to yours!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJc0jYRm3hM/TwIqoEfRAjI/AAAAAAAABwo/38JBeAi1n10/s1600/IMG_3834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dJc0jYRm3hM/TwIqoEfRAjI/AAAAAAAABwo/38JBeAi1n10/s400/IMG_3834.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-32954948826647158172011-12-13T20:47:00.001-06:002011-12-19T19:21:49.570-06:00Medical UpdateWe have had several doctor appointments since we arrived home with Charlotte. The International Adoption Clinic at Vanderbilt is awesome & who we saw first. They took bloodwork (9 viles to be exact!) to see the levels of her immunizations, so we don't have to repeat any that she has already had etc.. & they will check to see if she is anemic & a long list of other things. They did a stool sample (yuck), a TB test and she even had an observation session with an occupational therapist.<br />
<br />The occupational therapist said she is doing GREAT and that she is right on target for her age. YIPPEE! She said she thought we would see a big improvement in her English in just a couple months. They also noted that Charlotte is really flat footed so, they said we need to let he go barefooted as much as possible at home.<br />
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We are seeing Dr. Kelly @ Vanderbilt as her cleft surgeon. He was SO NICE and even Charlotte liked him. He said her palate repair looked great and so did her lip repair. He asked who had done it when we told him it was done in China, at their local hospital, he was really impressed. He did say he noticed a slight sagging on 1 side of her lip. I had not noticed it, until he mentioned it. But, he said it takes a year and a half for the lip to fully recover from surgery & look its best. So, we will wait until June & look at it again & if needed, he will do a lip revision then. <br />
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I showed him the spot on the back of her head. I thought it was a scar of some kind but, he knew immediately that it was a cutis aplaysia. He said it a rare skin problem where you are born without skin there. So it healed & it is virtually a scar with no hair growing out of it. He said he wants to remove it, and that there is a very small 1% chance for her during her lifetime to develop skin cancer if we left it. So she will have that removed along with the lip revision, if he thinks she needs it, in June. <br />
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He said the next surgery would then be at age 4 for her nose repair. Then, a surgery at around age 8 or so, for the bone graft surgery to do the final repair to her cleft gum line. We are really thrilled to have him as her doctor. He referred us to a pediatric dentist, Dr. King, and we went to see him that same day while we were in Nashville. <br />
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I had already noticed that one of her front teeth was brown & that it would need attention soon. It was hard to see because it was in the indention where her gumline doesn't line up. Dr. King wanted us to come back the next day to have that tooth extracted. He said it was infected & if not taken out soon, it could spread infection in her bones. When he realized she hadn't eatten since breakfast, he decided he could do it that afternoon instead if we wanted. <br />
<br />They gave her something that was suppose to calm her down and we had to wait for 45 minutes for it take affect. I expected it to have a bigger impact on her but, they assured me she would do ok. They took her back and she didn't cry so, maybe the medicine did work. About 20 minutes later the nurse came back with her & her tooth for the tooth fairy & Charlotte was just sniffling. I consoled her for a little while and she just laid her little head on my shoulder. She slept the whole 2 hour ride home & when we got home, she acted like nothing had ever happened. She is such a trooper!<br />
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And just because I couldn't leave this post without pictures....here are a few from the last week.<br />
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Her first Sunday to go to church..she LOVED it and kept pointing to the choir and then touching our faces and grunting to make sure we saw them too. It was so cute! <br />
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This is at Santa's Village....she LOVED the merry go round and had a little temper tantrum </div>
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when we had to get off. :) </div>
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She just amazes us every day. She started waving and blowing kisses right after we got home Now, just a couple weeks later, she has added saying "bye, bye" and "hi" and in Wal-mart tonight she waved at anyone that would look her way! :) LOL! So cute! She is so outgoing!<br />
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We are so thankful to have her home and Christmas is going to be extra special this year! <br />
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We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! <br />
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Love,<br />
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<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-27229319842554434172011-12-13T19:53:00.002-06:002011-12-13T19:53:07.816-06:00A glimpse into her life while in Wuwei..<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since seeing Charlotte's picture for the first time in February, we had sent several care packages to her which included disposable cameras. We received 4 cameras back the day we got her. These were the ONLY things we received....no clothes besides the ones she had on, no pictures or anything. We were not able to get the cameras developed while we were in China. We were hoping there would be some pictures of her with her foster family but, there weren't any. :( Just shots of her & the occassional feet or hands of someone unknown. We are very thankful for these pictures though, so I thought I would share some of my favorites.</div>
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Here she is pretending to be on the phone! :) LOL! She does this all of the time! And her outfit...cracks me up! I am not sure if it is a bathing suit or some weird sort of split pants. :)<br />
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Here she is in the outfit we sent her in a care package. We also sent the bunny she is holding. :)<br />
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We assume this is a picture of the Wuwei Children's Welfare Institute. If anyone can translate what this says & confirm this for us, please let me know.<br />
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We know this is the entrance to the Wuwei Children's Welfare Institute because our guide had described the orphange & told us about the beautiful entrance.<br />
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When I saw this picture at first, it broke my heart! This could be a poster for orphans and she is an orphan no more... Praise the Lord! To see what she has come from though, blows my mind...she is such a brave little girl!<br /><br /> P.S. We had sent a journal from Ann at Red Threads and we did receive it the day we got her and the orphange director & assistant director had written her a special note in it. Our guide translated them to English and he also wrote a note for her and we think this will be a nice keepsake for her. They also gave us the full name of her foster mother so, our guide says when he travels to Wuwei (he does a few times a year) that he will try & connect with her & see if she has any baby pictures she would like to share & we will email him new pictures to give her if he does find her. It breaks my heart that we have no photos of her younger than a year old. </div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-75837637720664572802011-12-10T18:02:00.001-06:002011-12-13T10:10:10.998-06:00Reality :)Well we are slowly getting settled as a family of 6! She has blended into the family just so easily it is the jetlag that has been more of a problem. :) <br />
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I have read alot of adoption blogs as we contemplated adoption and then waited to bring Charlotte home. Alot of them say they have a hard time feeling connected and finding it difficult to feel the same love & bond they have with their biological children. I had some of these fears as we prepared to leave for China. What if she rejects me? What if I don't have a connection with her?<br />
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So now I want to share my feelings of our last few weeks together. I want to be completely honest and not sugar coat it....we ABSOLUTEY, POSITIVELY, LOVE this girl and I know our bond will only grow with time but, I could NOT HAVE IMAGINED an easier transition for her to our family. I sat there holding her last night and her little head laying on my chest and it just hit me...she isn't my biological child & no one will ever say she looks like me but, yet it really is THE SAME love. It was like my heart doesn't realize that she isn't of my body and I've just felt the same as I did when I rocked my boys to sleep as babies. . <br />
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We all just adore her and her transition is absolutely nothing short of a miracle. She seems like such a happy girl with us. I only wish her foster parents & birth parents could see her and how she has adjusted. Her foster parents must have been amazing & my mom said recently that her birth parents must have been smart because she is just a little genious baby & continues to shock us all. :) LOL!<br />
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We did courses online, read books & watched numerous videos on attachment and what to expect. I expected a shy little girl that wanted me to hold her alot and I imagined spending alot of time at home just trying to get used to each other. We have seen no signs of her having any anxiety or behaviors of having been neglected or in an orphanage. What we have is one of the most outgoing little girls I know. She smiles all of the time and loves being in bigger group settings. So I have had to modify my thoughts on everything I expected & we are just taking 1 day at a time and loving her. <br />
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<strong><u>Things about Charlotte:</u></strong><br />
1) She shakes her head back & forth for no<br />
2) She loves other kids and isn't shy even in big groups<br />
3) She is understanding almost all of what we say it seems...this has amazed me!<br />
4) She LOVES to kiss us and is very affectionate.<br />
5) She now loves all 3 of her brothers and her Baba so that is GREAT!<br />
6) She is sleeping through the night again and now we just lay down with her (in our bed) and she goes right off to sleep without a whimper. She does wake up occassionally to roll over & give me kisses in her sleep! So cute!<br />
7) She likes everyone in our immediate family and if others try to get her to come to them, she most of the time will shake her head no & hold on tighter to us. Sometimes she will go to someone though like at the Santa's Village she LOVED the merry go round and she gladly reached for my best friend because she was closer to the merry go round. LOL! She cried every time we had to get off the merry go round. :) This is the only time I have seen her have a typical toddler fit. :) <br />
8) Communication with her is easier than I anticipated. She points to my drink and then points to her mouth if she is wanting a drink. She pulls my hand or gently pushes my head to get my attention & points at things. The other day at the doctors office I was sitting in the floor with her playing as we talked to the doctor & she grabbed my hand & patted the chair. :) She wanted me to sit in the chair. Honestly she amazes us! <br />
9) It's been a while since we have had a toddler but, she really seems more mature than most other 2 year olds. I wonder if it is because there were no other children in her foster family...so she had just been around adults. One day she spilt a drink on the floor and she looked up to me & just cried and pointed and just got the saddest look on her face. I bet she got in trouble for accidentally doing things like that in her foster family because, she looked at me like she was in trouble. I just kissed her & said "it's ok, it's ok". There have also been other moments of rough housing with the boys that she looked at us & acted like she wanted to do it but, couldn't believe she wouldnt get in trouble for it. LOL! <br />
10) She goes through phases of really disliking her car seat. We heard this would probably happen and it has.<br />
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<u><strong>Thoughts on our trip to China:</strong></u><br />
1) I wish I would have repared my teenage son that Charlotte might think of him as an adult & that she may not immediately like him as well as our little boys.<br />
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2) I SO wish we would have stayed on Shamain Island! The Garden Hotel was nice but, I thought we would get a suite and we just got a regular room & it was tiny & nothing special. After visiting the island, things are so calm there and I would have loved that. There are lots of things around the Garden but the traffic makes it more difficult to get anywhere with a stroller. We also saw lots of beggars & handicapped people begging for food & money around the Garden & it was very disturbing to me. I don't think I will ever get the picture of this one man out of my head. :( I think I would have felt safer on the island.<br />
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3) There is no way to adequately describe what a 14 hour flight is like. I thought for international flights you would have more room...NOPE! Your seats won't even recline more than 3 inches so it made it impossible to sleep. There were 3 to a row and I was the lucky middle person between Jason (by the window) & a chinese woman on the aisle. Everytime we needed to go to the bathroom or get out we all had to get up. IF we ever go to China againm and we hope to, I will definitely be looking at upgrades. I am not an extravagant person and usually am pretty thrifty, because I like to be...BUT, I will gladly pay more for better seats next time.<br />
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4) I am so thankful we went to Beijing for a couple of days beforehand. The jetlag was hard & I was exhausted & about to pass out every day at about 4 p.m. and certainy would not have been in any shape to handle a toddler.<br />
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5) We enjoyed taking the train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Why can't plane seats be this comfortable & roomy? Don't hesitate to take the train...we checked some of our luggage & it was easy to get a taxi when we got to Hong Kong.<br />
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6) I would love to have spent atleast 1 more day & night in Hong Kong. It was beautiful but we really didn't get to see much of it. It felt so much more westernized compared to China and that was nice on the way home.<br />
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7) Our guide had us scheduled to do the regular city zoo in Guangzhou not the Safari Park Zoo. We didn't realize this until that morning and even though the city zoo was nice, it was similar to any zoo we would see in the U.S. In hindsight, I wish I would have told him beforehand that we really prefer to see things unique to China. There are lots of more interesting things to see in Guangzhou. Our guide in Guangzhou (Jack Mao), we loved but he mainly concentrated on the paperwork, so this was the only excursion we did with him.<br />
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8) Be careful when taking a taxi to Shamain Island. A friend of mine, Kim & I, got in a taxi at the Garden & told the bellboy to tell our driver we wanted to go to Lucy's (a restaurant) on Shamain Island. Well 30 minutes later we were on an island...just not Shamain Island and with a taxi driver who was really frustrated with us. He stopped on the side of the road and pointed to this building and motioned for us to get out. We tried our best to let him know this was not the right place. He just got really frustrated with us & kept motioning for us to get out, so we did. We walked up to a convenience store & started asking people if they spoke English. Finally we found a young guy that said he did & we asked him if he would mind helping us get another taxi on the street. He said I will just take you in my car....we said NO THANK YOU! LOL! I was not about to come all this way & go missing in China! So he did help us get a taxi again & after 30 minutes we were at Shamain Island! woohoo! What a fiasco though. So in hindsight, I would just ask to go to The White Swan because I hear all drivers know where that is. :)<br />
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You can click on any of the pictures below to make them bigger.<br />
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Saying goodbye to China...</div>
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and everything she had ever known...what a brave girl!</div>
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She LOVES her doll stroller!</div>
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She LOVES bubbles too!</div>
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Kendra, Ben & Charlotte at the 1st grade Santa's Village field trip.</div>
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<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-53698411875775640872011-12-01T21:05:00.001-06:002011-12-03T12:47:30.525-06:00We are HOME sweet HOME!Well we SURVIVED the L-O-N-G plane ride! Charlotte was a trooper and only cried maybe 20 seconds the entire trip home. It is still just a horrible flight....just brutal and I really think all the prayers worked because it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. We ended up getting into Newark and through customs and immigration quicker than we thought we would so we decided to take an earlier flight to Nashville.<br />
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So what was immigration like in Newark? They were SO NICE! We waited in line (It took us maybe 10 mins) and the officer asked for the brown envelope with her immigration papers & passport in it. He opened it and checked it all out and stamped her passport. Then he said the immigration office has all the adopted kids go to the office as well. So he led us to this smaller room with a waiting room (only 2 people were there waiting) & there where 3 officers behind a counter. One of them called me up just as I sat down and he looked over everything and said "CONGRATULATIONS!" Of we went to collect our luggage and recheck them all again.<br />
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We arrived in Nashville around 4:15 p.m. (Way earlier than our 7:30 arrival we had planned) 12so our friends who had planned a big celebration at the airport couldn't come. We live 2 hours from the airport so literally by the time we decided on the earlier flight my mom & boys had to leave right then to come get us. In fact we had to wait about 20 minutes for them to get there. We walked out of the baggage area and the boys were grinning from ear to ear. Charlotte did so well with them. She immediately held Drew and Ben's hands on the way home and they were all over her. She was fine as long as I was holdig her but, I told them to give her a little space. She has loved having brothers! <br />
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She is warming up to Will little by little. I think because he is a teenager (he is 13) & looks like a grown man that she thought he was an adult. This was hard on him and something I had not anticipated. (her loving the 2 younger brothers but not our teenager) His feelings were really hurt at first and when Jason was trying to talk to him about it in his room, he cried. I wish I had realized this possiblity and prepared him better for this but, things are getting better with time.<br />
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The only real issue we are having is catching up on our sleep and getting her to sleep well since we have been home. She has been waking up around 2 or 3 a.m. in the middle of the night. ugh! Otherwise I think Jason and I would be almost back on track by now.<br />
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Things about Charlotte since we've been home:<br />
1) She is saying &/or repeating words like: car, ball, truck, Drew, Ben, Will, <br />
2) She likes my cell phone and will have long conversations (I think in Mandarin) while holding it up to her ear! LOL!<br />
3) She absolutely loves her doll stroller and sometimes won't even go to sleep without her hand still being on it. :)<br />
4) She loves some of her toys...her favorites right now are: her Leap Pad dog Violet (from Aunt Steff & Uncle Matt) & a dump truck at Meemaw & DeeDee's house. I decided she needed a pink one-so we went to Walmart last night (her 1st trip to Walmart) and we got a big pink car for her to push that she loves. :)<br />
5) She likes most food we have given her. Her favorite so far has been the hashbrown casserole Ms Jenny brought us the night we got home.<br />
6) She likes her clothes & shoes & hairbows! We always show her herself after getting her dressed and she smiles. Kim asked if she could try Charlottes hairbow on Mei-lei because to see if she would keep it in. So she took it gently out of Charlottes hair & placed in in Mei-Lei...Charlottes got the famous pouty lip and started crying. :) <br />
7) She points to everything she wants. If she throws something, she points for you to go get it & keeps pointing at it & grunting! LOL! So we have had a talk with the boys about using our words when we talk to her and also not getting things for her that she just points to them. :)<br />
8) It takes her a little bit to warm up to people but, when she does, she then shows off by throwing a ball back & forth or her blocks. <br />
9) She knows what the word "jump" means and LOVES to jump! The problem is, she is also thinking it is cool to jump down our steps...not a good idea! :) She will hold both of your hands and jump & jump if you tell her. She also likes to hold 2 peoples hands and on the count of 3 for them to jump or pull her up in the air.<br />
10) She does NOT like saying goodbye to anyone in the afternoon or at night (she is fine during the day)....she will cry & cry even if she just met you. :( Poor thing!<br />
11) She has a really quiet cry & sometimes she will do the silent cry which breaks my heart!<br />
12) When we turn the Steven Curtis Chapman CD on in our car she tries to sing along with us! :)<br />
13) It is easier to communicate with her than I thought. She is able to communicate with us by gestures, etc...it is pretty amazing!<br />
14) She is just about the cutest, smartest & bravest little girl we have EVER met & we love her so dang much!<br />
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This picture was taken on our last night in Guangzhou at an Irish Restaurant close to the Garden Hotel. (L-R ) Mei-lei, Shawn, Kim, Charlotte, Kendra & Jason<br />
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Yes, I have a whole bunch of photos I need to download and put on here....I promise when I am more rested I will do that. <br />
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We can't truly express how grateful we are for everyone's prayers while we were gone. It was an amazing experience that we will never forget but, we are so happy to be HOME! <br />
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Love!Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-58185531945985733942011-11-26T02:32:00.001-06:002011-11-26T02:52:48.364-06:00From Lanzhou to Guangzhou...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Charlotte had her first playdate with Taya. They had been around each other all week but we hadnt let them get down in the floor to play together. They played very well together and Charlotte liked sharing. When Aaron got up and started saying bye bye Charlotte started crying. :) I think she really liked playing for Taya. :)</div>
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What we have been waiting on...Charlottes Chinese passport! :) Along with our 2 U.S. passports. </div>
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Leaving Lanzhou and our guide aka Uncle Steed. I cried when we left...we loved Lanzhou & Steed so much!<br />
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Our Gladney friends in Guangzhou...Shawn & Kim with their new daughter Mei-li are from Austin, TX and then there is me & Charlotte & our Gladney travel coordinator Gongzhan Wo who just happened to be traveling in China this month so, we got to meet him, and on the end is Jason. The poster is of Edna Gladney (founder of our agency)<br />
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The medical exam...</div>
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She really did not care for them doing things to her. :)</div>
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Our guide in Guangzhou, Jack, had on a cap from Leeland, Michigan which is where Jason vacationed as a child. Small world! He said an adoptive family had given it to him.<br />
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Outside the medical clinic</div>
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Our guide in Guangzhou, Jack Mao with us at the medical exam</div>
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Beautiful Shamain Island</div>
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The guys waiting on me & Kim to finish shopping on Shamain Island </div>
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We are all doing pretty well. I ended up getting sick on the plane and sicker once we got to Guangzhou. Some how I made it the room and collapsed. Jason took Charlotte for a couple of hours and let me rest. It was a hard night for them...she wouldn't go potty for him even though she kept motioning that she needed to go. UGH! Anyway, I think it helped them bond though because today she has been smiling at him more and one time she didnt even cry when I handed her to him. </div>
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Our hotel is very nice...it is huge and similar to the Opryland Hotel with a waterfall etc... but we did not get a suite like I had hoped. The room is just a standard room. I am wishing I had asked for a suite but, I assumed all rooms were suites at the Garden. It is in a good location with lots of things nearby but, after visiting the island I wish we were on the island. It is so quiet there and easy to walk around with her in a stroller.</div>
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We went to the medical exam this morning. We ate the breakfast buffett and left for Shamain Island at 9:30 with our new guide Jack. We really like him too. Boy have we been blessed with great guides. The medical exam consists of 3 different areas...one to measure & weigh the kids. Charlotte weighed 27 lbs. :) The 2nd station was ENT where they checked in her mouth, her ears etc.. And the final exam is where we had to take all of her clothes off and she did not like them touching her! </div>
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We did some shopping around the island after the medical exam and I found a few cute things for Charlotte. Now we are getting ready to go eat at The Banana Leaf restaurant ( a Tai restaurant) with our Utah friends and our Gladney friends. <br />
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Thankfully I am feeling alot better today and hope to be back to 100% tomorrow. Charlotte is doing just wonderful...laughing and smiling, playing games and even getting a little naughty with her spitting! LOL! Daddy is sitting on the bed with her right now and she is laughing and spitting on him and he is smiling back at her while telling her no....like thats gonna work! LOL! She already has him wrapped around her little pinky! LOL! <br />
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Sending our love from China!Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-47665081475017888482011-11-24T07:20:00.001-06:002011-11-24T08:16:40.610-06:00Dear Charlotte<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dear Charlotte,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I rocked you to sleep tonight and looked into your beautiful brown eyes, I couldn't help but wonder...Did your birth mother look into these same beautiful brown eyes? Or were you wisked away when they saw your cleft lip &
palate, to be found by the nanny of the orphanage on that cold, early November morning? Did she wonder where you are right now? Did your foster mother (your 2nd mama) lovingly take care of you? Did she teach you to spit shine the furniture as you showed us today? :) Is she missing you right
now? I pray both of these first mamas in your life will be able to find peace in the role they played in your life.I sit here in <st1:city w:st="on">Lanzhou</st1:city>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> the closest I will probably ever be to these 2 important women in your life and in a way it makes me sad to leave <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Lanzhou</st1:city></st1:place>
tomorrow. Going to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Guangzhou</st1:city></st1:place> is one step closer to home and our boys (your guo guos) but, it is one step away from everything you have ever known.<br />
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I am your 3rd mama, your forever and ever mama and I pray I can be all you need me to be and more. This journey to you has been one of the best things to ever happen to me and I hope one day you will realize how much your 3 mamas have loved you.... 1 enough to give you up, 1 enough to care for you for almost 2 years and 1 enough to love you through anything that might come our way. It was God's plan all along that on November 20th, 2011 that you would become our daughter and we love you very, very much!
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Love, your
forever & ever mama <o:p></o:p>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-33701257421506313552011-11-24T00:32:00.001-06:002011-11-24T01:43:29.775-06:00We are doing good!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have a VERY HAPPY girl today! She loves her clothes...this outfit was from Aunt Tonya & Laura. :) She loves eatting her little bananas...they are about 2-3 inches long but taste the same as regular bananas. ;)</div>
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We are doing REALLY GOOD today! She has smiled and laughed and been just really happy today. She is talking more and of course we don't know what she is saying. I am able to be away from her a little. Like right now she is sitting on the bed by herself! YIPPEE! :) She tolerates Jason right now. If he tries to feed her she jerks away and won't eat it. But if I pick up the same spoon she opens her mouth right up. LOL! So stubburn! But she did play with him today and tolerated him holding her in the Ergo Carrier which was good for them both and good for my back! :) We are getting ready to meet our friends and head to the city square. </div>
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Things we know about Charlotte:</div>
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1) She likes to watch Chinese cartoons & points & talks to the tv</div>
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2) She can use chop sticks pretty well</div>
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3) She LOVES to be outside and she LOVES her stroller! She will go to our hotel door and start to push her stroller to the door if she thinks it is time to go out.</div>
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4) She likes to look at the boys pictures and occassionally will say "Guo Guo" when she points to the picture of them!</div>
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5) She came from a good orphanage...they use a special wheat additive to the formula in Wuwei to make the kids healthier and we can tell.</div>
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6) She likes to fold clothes. She keeps a little washclothe of her blanket & likes to fold them neatly. I think she must have folded clothes in her foster family.</div>
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7) She took the wash clothe and was wiping the desk in our hotel room off, then, she spit and rubbed some more. So funny!</div>
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8) Our guide says when we drive around she talks about the big trucks! :)</div>
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9) She is an easy going girl...and her smile will melt you heart! :)</div>
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10) She loves her little black boots. I think it must have been ones she has worn for some time. Her feet are TINY!</div>
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11) She eats bananas, rice congee, noodles, those little manadarin oranges and is very independant about it wanting to peel it herself and hand me the peeling. :)</div>
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING from China! :) Love you all!<br /></div>
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The is a replica of the horse statue that is from Wuwei that is now famous in China </div>
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and I believe is used as their emblem for tourism</div>
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This Buddha was beautiful! We saw it when visiting the Budhist temple in Lanzhou. It was one of several Budha...our guide said they believe in many Gods.</div>
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This is looking out of our window in our hotel. It is a beautiful city but </div>
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you can't see clearly as the air is so polluted.</div>
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Apartments we can see from our hotel window.</div>
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More views from the window</div>
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Charlotte putting on makeup like she sees mama do! :)</div>
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We went out with our Utah friends and this was part of our Thanksgiving feast! It was so yummy! Notice the chicken head though...yuck! We had a very nice lunch with 2 different meat dishes, rice, noodles, and 2 desserts for $18 USD</div>
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Our Thanksgiving desserts...this one was like a custard pie and it was YUMMY! And the other was like a pie crust and on the inside were peanuts and a sugar so it tastes a little like pecan pie.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgzRUy8AAHw/Ts3vuvjNQ1I/AAAAAAAABqY/WARbAFxcjBA/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kgzRUy8AAHw/Ts3vuvjNQ1I/AAAAAAAABqY/WARbAFxcjBA/s320/015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-26648972867577017672011-11-23T02:11:00.001-06:002011-11-23T03:12:28.259-06:00We LOVE Lanzhou!I had heard before we came that Lanzhou was fairly small and with not alot to do. Well we LOVE it here! It is absoutely BEAUTIFUL! I like it much more than Beijing!<br />
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Today we went to a Budhist temple and it was gorgeous there! Old people gather there in the mornings to exercise, dance, sing etc.. It was amazing to see them! Jason joined a group playing hacky sac....well with a badmitton birdie that was weighted instead of a hacky sac. We gathered quite the attention from everyone at the park. They wanted to know why we had an Asian baby. They all were very nice and comlimentary about adoption and some told us we were very good people and that they were thankful. One woman said "She is a lucky girl!" I told her "We are lucky parents" through our interpretor. :) we truly are....she is perfect for us and we love her so much!<br />
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She seems to be doing better this afternoon. We ate a Pizza Hut for lunch and we were so thankful for some food that is familiar. Afterwards I told Jason he had to carry her in the Ergo carrier because my arms have been killing me. So he did and she cried and cried but, we were in a busy area so there was alot to distract her and she eventually got over it. She has had more to do with him this afternoon and has had a REALLY good day today...smiling and laughing and talking more! We love this girl SO MUCH! She is just a doll! and she amazes us she is so smart!<br />
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We met another American couple adopting here this week. They are from Utah and we have LOVED getting to know them and their new daughter. Their daughter has a heart condition and is a month older than Charlotte. But she is not able to walk or crawl. She was in a different orphange (not foster care) and you can tell she is a sweetie that is just eatting up all of the attention. Our guide said they probably had 10 babied per nanny to take care of and they just did as good as they could. She is alos VERY tiny and her color is bad...because of the heart problem. They will be doing heart surgery in the states so keep this family in your prayers. <br />
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We have enjoyed skyping with some of our family this week. It has made me feel close to the boys an dnot miss them as much. And Charlotte walked over to the computer just a few minutes ago asking for Guo Guo and pointing. (that means big brothers!) She has loved seeing everyone too! :)<br />
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Tomorrow we plan to celebrate Thanskgiving by going to a nice Western restaurant that our guide recommended with our new Utah friends. We definitely have SO MUCH to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! <br />
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The assistant Director of the Wuwei Orphanage. He was so nice. He told us he could tell we had already done alot for WuKexia and that we had good hearts. He wanted to make sure we would have more surgeries for her palate if it needed it. We assured him we would and that we already had an appointment the week after we get back.</div>
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From L-R Melody (the Utah couples guide), our new Utah friends and their new daughter, in between them is their daughters orphange director, another helper form the guide service, Jason, Kendra & Charlotte, Wuwei Assistant Director, a nanny that came to help with WuKexia on the long car ride, our guide Steed (who we absoutely love!)</div>
<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-71835539675684430212011-11-21T02:51:00.001-06:002011-11-21T04:49:00.232-06:00How is she doing?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Overall she is doing really well. She smiled and laughed for the first time a few hours after we had her. She has this really cute pouty face. It is ADORABLE! When they were trying to take her picture for her Chinese passport she diddnt cry but she would stick out her bottom lip. :) Everyone in the store laughed and laughed at her.</div>
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She is grieving though fairly hard at times. She will break out in a cry for no reason what so ever. It makes me think something is hurting her but I know it isnt. I think it is her broken heart....not knowing what is going on and who might leave her next. :( It breaks my heart too. </div>
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For some reason today she won't have anything to do with Jason. We know this sometimes happens in the first few days but, man are my arms killing me! And today she has decided she won't sit alone in the floor and play. If she plays in the floor she wont let her butt be on the floor...she has to be in my lap. :) She also wants to have her shoes on all the time. If she doesn't have them on she points to them & grunts. We know all of this normal...she has been SO BRAVE! But, if you think about it, pray for her...I can't imagine all that is going through her mind.</div>
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Love,</div>
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Kendra</div>
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First smile! she & Baba were playing with stacking cups.</div>
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Playing with Baba before she decided she didn't like him.</div>
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Officially the newest McCuistion! :)</div>
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a smile for mama!</div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-27894029283875186942011-11-20T04:48:00.001-06:002011-11-20T05:37:05.140-06:00We have her and she is BEAUTIFUL!We met her in our room and she is amazing! So smart! She has been calling her brothers "guo guo" (which means big brothers) in their picture the last few hours! She called Jason Baba! (which means daddy) And she really is potty trained. She motions when she needs to go pee and has gone 3 times! :)<br />
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The first hour or so was pretty bad. She was crying and wanted nothing to do with either one of us. They said they had picked her up from her foster family just this morning. The woman that is in the pictures she didnt know before this morning and the man is the Assistant Director of her orphanage and they were both so nice!<br />
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She is already a master at the stacking cups and loves watching Chinese cartoons. I think that might have helped as our language is so foreign to her. After we turned on the tv, she has really opened up. :)<br />
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She is doing really good right now. We heard her first laughs when we put stacking cups on our heads & then letting them fall. lol! Although I am a rasd worried about bedtime. We got her around 2:30pm & it is now 7:30 p.m. so bed is coming soon...<br />
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We are sooooo happy & so thankful! Thank you so much for your prayers. They were certainly felt today. <br />
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with lots of love from China,<br />
Kendra<br />
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<br />Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-34796377827052235932011-11-19T05:02:00.001-06:002011-11-19T05:29:58.283-06:00We aren't in Kansas anymore....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This building was built specifically for the Olympics in 2008...it is called the Birds Nest</div>
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Street vendors selling sweet potatoes and roasted chestnuts....which made me sing Angela one of my favorite Christmas songs. She said she had never heard it. :)</div>
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A rick shaw ride through the hutong. This man was from Gansu province and only gets to see his family like once a year. </div>
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What is a hutong? It is an alleyway and all of these doorways off the alleyway lead to courtyard surrounded by rooms. The hutongs were originally built by the Emperor to house the generals and army officials around the Forbidden City...so that they could get there quickly. No one else was allowed to live there. There are over 4,000 hutongs residences still in Beijing and it is something like I have never seen before. The old people believe in feung sway (sp?) and that living on the ground/soil is healthier. So many people have to live in high rises that these are very south after. This hutong Angela said would cost $3 million U S Dollars! So these hutongs are for the wealthy! It blew me away....we are definitely not in Kansas any more! This is the real China.</div>
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The honeymoon room in the hutong! :) LOL!</div>
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There is a big courtyard and 4 buildings. The building on the north is for the elderly or owners because of the way the sun sets and rises it is cool in the summer and hot in the winter. The building on the south is for the servants because it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The building on the east is for the son and the building on the west is for the daughter.<br />
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A typical bedroom.</div>
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The hutong dining room...she made the men sit in the throne chairs. :)</div>
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The owners talking outside their home. </div>
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The kitchen</div>
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The doorway to the courtyard </div>Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060830508126273969.post-39262870757197046432011-11-19T04:03:00.001-06:002011-11-19T04:46:40.682-06:00The beautiful Summer PalaceThe traffic is HORRENDOUS here! There are 5,000 new cars on the rode every day in Beijing. The Forbidden City is in the very center of the city and they call the road around it "ring roads" 1st ring road, then 2nd ring road etc... They circle the Forbidden City and continue on out the higher number. There are alot ALOT of people riding bicycles and scooters. Cars do not speed (they dont have a chance) but kind of follow their own rules....like passing on the side of the road. It is all bizarre and results in lots of honking.<br />
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Today we went to see The Summer Palace. It is probably the most beautiful place I have ever been. The lake was man made and the Navy used it for training since Beijing doesnt have a coast or water for them to train on. It was all very ornate and beautiful!<br /></div>
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This is the male lion outside the Summer Palace. The male is always on the East and the female is always on the West. The male has a ball under his paw and the female has a cub under her paw.</div>
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One of the massive gates into the Summer Palace</div>
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The temple at the Summer Palace is in the background. The lake was man made and the dirt was then used to make the hill on which the temple is.</div>
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A man practicing his chinese calligraphy on the sidewalk with water.</div>
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This picture is of a marble boat the Emperor had made. </div>
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And you want to know the best news.....WE GET OUR DAUGHTER TOMORROW! Somebody pinch me...really I feel like I am in a dream. Tonight is the last night Charlotte will spend in the orphanage! Praise the Lord! <br />
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We don't know exactly what time we will get her tomorrow but we think around 10p.m.-midnight CST on Saturday night. So please pray for Charlotte and for us...it is going to be a very big day! <br />
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With lots of love from China!Kendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770006190889419876noreply@blogger.com1