Safe and Sound in Beijing

Noelle and I packed up on Tuesday, and we were ready to head out Wednesday for Atlanta.  Everyone insisted on taking us to the airport.  Once we were all checked in, we had our good-byes.  As you can tell everyone was fine with us leaving except my baby, LeeLee.  She had actual tears in her eyes, and gave me the most pitiful puppy dog look you could imagine. Talk about making a girl feel bad.

We had a great flight to Chicago, then on to Beijing.  The international portion of our trip was somewhat bumpy, but we are here safe and sound in Beijing.  We were greeted at the airport by Angela (some of you may know her from Lady Bugs N Love.)  What a great feeling to see our sweet sister on this end waiting for us. We are all settled in now, and are looking forward to a few days of sightseeing while we adjust to the time.

Let Freedom Ring!

I love the 4th of July.  I have always loved fireworks, I love patriotism, I love my country, and I love celebrating.  However, when I look at my family, I get a little misty eyed on Independence Day.  The freedoms that our country allows are such blessings.  With this being Hope's first year celebrating the fourth, I can't help but think how her life is dramatically changed because of the freedoms our country allows.  We had the freedom to adopt internationally.  She had the freedom to come to the United States as our daughter, and to be a citizen of this country that we call home.  Because of those two freedoms, she will have so many more freedoms, some of which she has already experienced, and some yet to come.  

To celebrate the 4th, we headed to the water park this morning.  We left around lunch time and had the kids get bathed.  I snuck in three quick hair cuts, since their hair was clean.  We then had mandatory nap time.  Somehow, I didn't get mine, but there was quite a bit of sleeping going on.

After naps, we had the perfect cold watermelon to wake everyone up.  They love watermelon.  It was devoured in no time. After watermelon, we cleaned up (again) and walked down the street to the fireworks celebration.  

I have been talking up the fireworks to Hope because if you all will remember, she was terrified of the fireworks in China.  I kept telling her how beautiful they were, and she just kept saying, "I don't like it the fireworks Mommy."  I just reassured her again and again that they were just wonderful.  

So, I was impressed when she actually sat in Paul's lap and watched them.  She was very content, not really scared at all.  I was so proud of her, but I still think she is questioning why we call them "fun."

We walked back home and everyone did sparklers in the front yard before turning in for the night.

I feel so blessed to look at this picture of four happy kids, and to know that they will all be afforded the great things that this nation has to offer. I pray that they each value and respect the opportunities that lie ahead of them.

Meet Pippa

For those of you that know me, you will know that my animals are almost ranked as high as my children.  I love them, they are my babies.  They vacation with me. I worry about them when I am not with them.  I am a little eccentric when it comes to my fur babies (I come by it honestly.)  We had a tragic accident in our house where my precious Lulu (7lb yorkie poo) let her anxiety get the best of her, and it led to her death.  To say I was devastated is an understatement.  I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, and didn't want to talk to anyone.  I didn't want to leave the house, yet alone take a shower.  She was just that special to me.  The kids were all grieving too.  Everyone had a sense of guilt, and everyone had a whole in their heart.  I had to claim to my life verse of Romans 8:28 to be able to face each passing day.  I was trying so hard to be strong for my kids, and to put on a brave face, but it was to hard and still at times is.  I love the sweet whispers reminding me that there are tons of animals languishing in shelters that also need homes.  I knew that to even begin to move on, we would need something to fill the void left by my beloved.  I am one of those who is willing to drive over the mountains and through the woods to find the perfect companion, so as I searched petfinder, I expanded my search.  I had looked at a few thousand dogs when I came across a 7 pound yorkie poo in Atlanta named Pippa.  Something about her put her at the top of my list.  We sent an inquiry about her, and visited our local rescue organizations in the meantime.  We met some real contenders, but I just couldn't let the thought of Pippa go.  I wanted to meet her first.

So, Pippa's foster mom called me and we talked about Pippa for a couple of hours.  I learned Pippa's story.  The picture above is of her when she was turned into the DeKalb Animal Services in Atlanta.  Because this is a high kill shelter without the funding for rehab and medical care, they put out a plea to find a rescue organization willing to take her.  Georgia Humane Society stepped in to provide the care she needed.  Pippa's hair was so matted that it was growing into her skin.  She had open sores in some places, and the pads of her feet were all bleeding.  Her old owners abusers, turned her in because they said she was aggressive.  Pippa's foster mom said that she had seen no signs of aggression, and they she was really the most delightful little thing, always looking for a lap to sit in.  The more we talked, the more she described exactly what my heart needed.  She was describing my Lulu, but without the severe anxiety issues.  I decided that we needed to meet Pippa.  The most important family member to meet her would of course be Rags, because he needed to be okay, so Rags, Noelle, my mom, and I headed to Atlanta to meet little miss Pippa.  Rags did great, and Noelle and I fell in love. 

So, little Pippa is now part of the family.  When she came into our home, I saw smiles again.  I heard the laughter that had been absent, I saw hearts beaming with the joy they had lost.  She is great, and you can't help but look at her and smile with her little tongue sticking out at you.  My heart is still broken, hurting in ways that I can't even explain, but as my husband says, "Pippa is just what the doctor ordered."  I tend to agree, but I think she was a gift from God, he knew what was going to happen, and he had this little girl waiting for us, and he orchestrated her being able to come home.  How humbled I am to know my mighty master through the good times, and through the bad.

Three New Friends

This is my backyard. Yep, I live in the city.  Right in the middle of the city.  Smack dab in the heart of the city. But, I am a farm girl at heart.  Every fiber of my being is a country girl.  I think I was born that way.  Growing up, my dream was always to live on a farm.  My parent's finally gave into my dream (and my dad's too) and we moved out into the county where I could have my horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, and so much more.  I left for college, and the country girl never left me.  So, here I am a country girl in the city.  I have also given birth to a country boy, who of course lives with me in the city.  He loves farm animals, and begs for them when we visit our friends farms.  So, I guess it shouldn't be any surprise that one of our country friends thought it would be a good idea for Hunter to raise some ducks.  They brought him three.  I should have taken pictures when they were babies, because they were so precious.  Now they are three big ducks.

What is neat about the three ducks is that all my neighbors love the ducks.  I thought that they were going to kill me once they had outgrown their storage bin and needed to more outside.  They quack....ALL THE TIME.  Yet my neighbors think they are great.  They will soon be flying, so they will go and live with a friend of ours on a 20 acre pond, but for now, I am enjoying my country pets in the city.  I am also enjoying the fact that my neighbors are all country folks at heart.

Should I Be Worried?

Hunter and one of his best friends Lee are just about as all boy as you can get. They are avid hunters, fishermen, and trappers.  I love having them together, because there is always a great discovery or adventure.  However, on Lee's last visit, we had a thunderstorm, so we had to call all the kids inside.  They all disappeared upstairs for a while, and this is what came down.

What is even more surprising is that they were talked into this by my two youngest.  I still haven't quite figured out how that happened, or why for that matter Hope is wearing a ski bib.  However, they seemed to be quite proud of themselves.  

I guess I shouldn't be worried, the boys quickly shed the dresses, and were quickly trying to figure out how to retaliate.  Hunter says the girls told them they would give them $100 to dress up and let them do their make up.  So, he and Lee were disappointed that there was no payout in the end.

Summer Nights

I love summer nights.  There is no rush to get everyone in bed.  Sometimes they fall out one by one, or they  all are doing something fun and just crash all together.  This is one of those times...they were telling princess stories, and dressing up the poor cat.  I heard it get quiet, and this is what I found.  They were all piled into the basement bed.  I kissed them good night, then walked away feeling blessed.  Blessed to see that they are sisters, playmates, and friends.

I Had a Famous Guest!

I will give a little bit of background info for those of you who don't live in the same "world" that I do.  When you tread into the world of international adoption, no one, and I mean no one can understand your trials, triumphs, fears, and joys like people who have been in the same boat, or people who are currently in the boat with you.  So, you go searching for your boat mates.  Fortunately for us, there is a place that we refer to as the "Queendom" where we, the adoptive parents and hopeful adoptive parents of Chinese children, can rely on each other. Some of us in the Queendom build tight internet relationships that transform into real friendships. In the Queendom, there are a few really famous people.  Of course the purple queen herself is the most famous of all, but I would have to say that the most famous "princess" is Courtney.  She isn't an adoptive parent, but a big sister to two precious little boys from China.  She is also the most knowledgeable when it comes to paperwork, steps to take, and how the process works.  Pretty impressive if you ask me.  So in the Queendom, Courtney is extremely famous and she came to visit me!  

So, let me go ahead and admit my mistake in this visit.  While Courtney's mom had already been in contact with me and asked me to take lots of pictures, I didn't want to seem like a crazy stalker lady with a camera, so I let my kids take pictures.  So all the pictures you are going to see were taken by my lovely children.

So, this Courtney! She is more precious in person that she is online.  If that could even be possible!  We enjoyed getting to know both her and her father. We had a fun day!  They got here and then we headed over to Ashley's house for lunch.  Ashley and I also met on the same website, and Ashley happened to move to Auburn.  So, Ashley also had a connection to Courtney, so lunch with her was a must.  Then we headed back to my house for dinner.

Dinner was the big event of the trip because I had some very special friends who were also coming over to meet Courtney.

Of course my children love him to death, so actually meeting and talking to Courtney and her dad seemed almost impossible.  He first had to be attacked and mauled, and climbed on like a jungle gym.  He loves it, and encourages it, because he loves them as much as they love him.

In fact the kids had to get ready for bed, then they made a bed for him too and covered him up.  He was such a great sport.

After my kids finally went to bed, Courtney and her dad were finally able to really talk to this young man and his parents.  They were able to learn so much from each other, and get some questions answered in regards to homeschooling in Alabama, as Courtney and her family are contemplating a move. (Now I am desperately praying that happens!)

So, the evening was a success.  Everyone had a good time and great fellowship was had by all.  

The pictures below are just a very few of the pictures that made me laugh out loud when I looked through to see what my children had captured.  I have learned my lesson, and next time I will just look like a crazy stalker woman with a camera.

This was an intentional face he was making at my children. 

 This is Courtney's, I don't know what you would call it look!

And for this one, well, I have no clue!

It was hard leaving Courtney, but I left her in good hands when we said our good byes.  I had taken her out to this special family's farm.  It is always fun out there, and I knew they would take good care of them and point them back in the right direction to get back to the airport.  I can only hope that our precious Miss Courtney will visit again!