Happy Birthday Mia!

On December 23, we celebrated Mia's second birthday. Over the past couple of weeks, she has started enjoying watching "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and so I decided to have a Minnie Mouse theme. We had the immediate family over, along with a couple of close friends who also have Chinese daughters. We had cake and ice cream and let her open her gifts. So many gifts!!! All day, I found myself thanking God for letting us make it to this day. I found myself thinking about Mia's birthmother and what feelings she must be dealing with on this day. I would give anything to have one conversation with her. To see her and to tell her that we are going to take care of this precious baby. I just wish she knew. I know she is beautiful... and I'd just love to see her. To thank her for this little gift that we are now raising as our own. What a great day we had. Just so thankful for Mia. Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Much love,
Ashley

Looking Back at 2010

Wow... what a year. In one sense, it has been a remarkably fast year, and then in other ways, it feels as if time has stood still for a while. This time last year, I was wishing to have a peek at this little girl we'd been matched with, anticipating a trip across the world, and counting days until we could go for her. The winter was spent finalizing paper work for the Chinese dossier, and the spring was about waiting. Waiting for approvals... Finally, summer came and we were able to make that journey to China and bring home our daughter. The fall was very challenging due to adjustment to four children, my own sickness, and job stresses. Then, it was Christmas. What a whirlwind of a year.

This was the best year of my life. Not so much because of Mia, though, she was an important part. It was much bigger than that. This year I learned many faith lessons. We took a leap of faith, ventured into something unknown, and we are better for it. God gave us courage this year, and it felt so good. Really good. I realized this year that this life of ours is to be used to bring glory to our God, and when we do that, He provides, He heals, He blesses, He favors. I am so imperfect, so messed up most of the time, but God has given me new vision, new hope in what lies ahead. I am learning to grasp the inconceivable concept of grace.

If you are reading this, you probably have prayed for us at some point this year and I thank you. Be courageous, be bold, and find your calling. Now, let's move on to 2011...

Much love,
Ashley

A Glimpse at our White Christmas!

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At Home with Mia

Our Adoption Story

It is finished!

I have finally completed Mia's Gotcha video. I will have Part II-At Home completed soon... I hope... This was a much bigger project than I anticipated. You will need to mute my playlist at the bottom of my blogpage so that you can hear the music in the video. Hope ya'll enjoy this...
Much love,
Ashley

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Nolan's class had a field trip last week to the Pumpkin Patch. Nolan and his classmates had a great time playing in corn seed, riding the "Cow Train", petting the goats, and most of all choosing their pumpkins from a huge field. The weather was cool and sunny and it just felt great to be spending the day with my baby boy. Here's a few pics of our day.

Much love,
Ashley

The Ladybug

I thought I needed to post a few more pics of the little ladybug. Choosing a costume for Halloween was a challenge because Mia is so tiny. The costumes that would fit her were made for infants, so I resorted to making one myself. I wanted her to be a ladybug, so I took what I liked from several costumes I had seen and combined them into one look. I made the tutu skirt and the wings from red tule that I bought at Hobby Lobby on the little spools. The dots are made of stiff black felt that I glittered. The headband is made from sequined elastic and I attached a fancy bow I already had. It was fun and easy to make and was just what I had imagined. I lucked up and found little red sequined shoes at Wal-Mart along with the black turtleneck and leggings. Then, Voila, the ladybug suit was complete. Mia's favorite part of the ensemble was the makeup... she loves red lipstick. I'm afraid we have quite the little diva on our hands...

Much love,
Ashley

October

October has been busy, but uneventful. Mia is learning to talk... and I must say that she is going to have quite the southern drawl. It's funny to hear her new words... all of which are multi-syllabic.... :) dog: dawwwwwg, Cole: Toe, Nolan: Noh-nun, Garrett: Geeeee, Mama, Daaadaaa...Jack: ack (our neighbor's cat). The boys are doing well and are becoming pretty good baby-sitters. I am still trying to figure out how to cope with so much to do and so little time to do it. My sweet friend, KB, shared a great laundry idea and it is helping tremendously. Before, we just let it pile up until it looked like Mount Everest... now, we have baskets for each kid. Each boy was also issued a mesh laundry bag to put dirty clothes in. It is also their responsible for getting that bag to the laundry room every couple of days. Now we are seemingly staying more on top of the washing. Laundry is folded and placed in their baskets and the big boys are responsible for putting their clean clothes away. I am putting away Nolan's and Mia's. This one little organization idea is helping us tame the laundry beast. The next beast we must tame is housecleaning. I used to have a friend come to the house twice a month to help me clean. Once the adoption expenses began to rack up, we had to tighten the budgetary reigns, and unfortunately I had to give up this luxury. Now, I am finding very little time to do the housecleaning. I LOVE a clean house, many who know me probably will attest that it is a pet-peave of mine. I hate clutter, I hate dust, and I like for everything to smell fresh. So now I stay frustrated the majority of the time because my house looks like a member of the Al Queda just stopped by and left a nice bomb behind. My mom tried to encourage me that I just needed to begin trying to accept the mess... and I know she's right. But it's very hard to do when you are a neat-freak. There I said it, I admit it. I'm a freak... totally.

On to better topics... October brought better health my way. I seem to have made a full recovery from the September near-death experience. So many people were prayerful for us during that time and I know that God answered many, many petitions for my healing. I am so fortunate to have awesome friends and wonderful family.

Halloween was bittersweet for me this year. The sweet part first... I remember thinking last year and talking with the family about the fact that our sister from China would be with us next Halloween. At that time, we hadn't even been matched with our Mia. But we had the idea of her planted in our minds and we hoped for her then. Now, fast forward one year, and I'm dressing the cutest little ladybug you ever saw and I can't help but say "Thank you, Lord" for this little precious one. Again, a visible, living, breathing testament of answered prayers and miracles all wrapped up in our girl. Now on to the bitter part... every year I took my kids to my Aunt Ruby's house... she would always buy their favorite candy and she would let them get all they wanted. She loved seeing them and that made me happy. This year, Aunt Ruby was gone. She went to be with the Lord in January and I missed her so much this Halloween... I missed her standing at her door holding her little candy bowl with the Hershey bars spilling out. And then... Cole and Garrett declare that they are too old to dress up this year. So I am all the more aware that my babies are growing up and part of me is glad for that, and another part is sad. Thankfully, they still wanted to go trick-or-treating with Nolan and Mia and for that I was relieved.

I've been working on Mia's Gotcha Day video. I got one completely finished to later discover that it won't load to YouTube or to Facebook. Ughh.. So back to the drawing board, and now I'm learning to navigate another software called iMovie on my Mac. Hopefully, I will have it completed soon and ready to post.

Now on to a November...

Much love,
Ashley

Another little bit of Roll Tide...

Forgot this one... :)

Ashley

A Challenging September

September began with continued heat and FOOTBALL. Alabama football and Glencoe football. Cole is playing Jr. High football and is one of the managers for the Varsity team. Garrett is one of the managers of the Jr. High team. We spend two nights a week at the football field and then some Saturdays in Tuscaloosa if the Tide is playing at home. Many of you have been asking about photos of Mia and her Tide clothing... so enjoy... LOL... September was rolling along fairly well, until September 11. I came down with an acute case of bacterial colitis and spent the next nine days hospitalized for IV antibiotics and treatment for dehydration. This was definitely not a good time to be away from Mia and I have to admit that I was very discouraged about life in general. My job is in jeopardy as my company is planning for layoffs later this fall. I have no idea if I will keep the job, or if I will be laid off. So... how do I stay sane with all of this activity? I look at my precious family and I am thankful for all the wonderful people in my life. I stand on the promise that "all things work for the good of those who love Him". God has proven to be faithful to us, through finances, through circumstances, through sickness, etc. I am relying on that. I am excited for what our future holds, what career changes may be in store for me, and for what the Lord wants to continue doing in our family. My pastor and I are in talks about beginning an orphan ministry in our church and I am super-excited about that. It would be pure joy to watch other orphaned children be united with loving, forever families. So, today, I am thankful for the assurance I have that God is in control. Mia is learning so much. She is beginning to say a few words like:
Ohhhhh (Cole), Da Da (Griff), Ack: (Jack, the cat), and she giggles a lot. She is a rambler and enjoys going through cabinet drawers. As of today, I have countless tubes of lipstick as well as a hairbrush that are missing. She is eating a little better and sleeps very well. She is struggling with seasonal allergies and has a perpetual runny nose. The most precious part of my day is when she and I snuggle up in my chair in my bedroom and she drinks her bottle and then sucks her thumb. I think about China then... about her life there, about her family who must wonder everyday what became of her, of the blessing that Mia is to our family. I am thankful for the opportunity to be her mom. September is gone and I'm looking forward to a beautiful fall season.

Much love,
Ashley

Wow... August went by fast...

Well, the month of August was a blur. My blogging took a hit, for sure. There has been very, very little spare time and I have been dealing with the shock and awe of parenting four children, varying in ages from teenager to toddler. Back to school went well. Nolan enjoys kindergarten so far and Garrett is really liking middle school. I can tell he is becoming a little man... he is much more self-sufficient, so I guess that's a sign he's growing up too. Cole is working hard at football and being the manager of the varsity football team. Mia is learning new things everyday. She is a master imitator and we crack up at how she copies everything we do. My mom witnessed her trying to make a key chain into an earring. Mom said that she must be watching me put on jewelry. Funny... She has a had a non-stop runny nose since early August and we discovered last week that she had an ear infection. Bummer... Anyway, the childcare situation was not working out, as Daddy couldn't work and entertain "Little Bee", so we ended up starting her in daycare three days a week. So far she is loving it. Her teacher is a God-send and is in love with Mia. Mia seems to really enjoy playing with the other little ones in her class, so for this I am happy. The other two days Mia is staying with my mom, so this is good too. All in all, we are settling in. We have bedtime routines in place and we are continuing to have family dinners, despite our busy schedules. Mia is learning to eat our food, but is still eating a lot of oatmeal, eggs, grits, yogurt, jello, etc. It is wonderful to finally have her at the table with us, as for so many months we prayed for her as we said grace over the meal. She is a constant reminder of God's faithfulness and a visual answered prayer. I will never be able to thank God for such a gift as Mia. The only sadness I have now is wishing that her birth mother could know where she is now, that she is so loved, that she is safe. I know that her mother probably wished all this for her and I really would love for her to know that her wish came true.
On August 12, we attended the Lifeline China Reunion in Birmingham. It was fun to finally meet a few families that I only have known via the internet. We got to meet another child that was in the same orphanage as Mia, and we know that she was with Mia at her first birthday party. She was adopted in February and Mia seemed happy to see her. We got to see Lily and Rebecca one last time. We really didn't get to say goodbye in China, so we were able to let them see our boys and get a photo of all of us together. God used these two women to unite us with our sweet girl and I will forever love them for that.
I still occasionally have to pinch myself to make sure that we really have made it through this process called adoption. I can't believe that the waiting is over and that she really is here at home with us. I used to lay down every night and think of her and looked forward to the day that she would be home. It is a feeling that words can't describe. I am perpetually exhausted, I look like a truck ran over me and then backed up and ran over me again, and I often have temporary lapses in self-control, but despite all of this I am grateful. Grateful that God saw us through such an amazing faith journey and is continuing to bless us.
August is over, but looking forward to what September brings.

Much love,
Ashley

One More First Day Pic...

Back to School

Today was the first day of school. My oldest, Cole, began the eighth grade. Garrett, our middle son, started fifth grade AND a new school. Nolan, my baby boy, went to kindergarten today. Ouch... I did pretty well until I ran into my mom this morning as she dropped off my niece, Molly. My mom took one look at Nolan in his big boy clothes and his backpack and she started crying. Then I started crying. It took me two hours to get control of myself. The beginning of kindergarten is a symbol of a lot of things. The main one to me is that he is growing up. He isn't a baby anymore. And I wanted him to stay my little baby. That probably sounds really silly to some of you, but you might as well ripped my heart out today as I walked him into that school. He was all smiles and I was a weeping fool. I'm crying right now just thinking about it. It must be exhaustion that is making me overly emotional. Another thing... I take an annual photo of my boys and now my boys and girl on the first day of school in the same glider on my deck. It is amazing to see the changes they make physically in a year. I look forward to this photo all year long. Well, Cole decided to have his dad buzz all of his hair off in preparation for the hot football practices that loom ahead. Nolan came running down the stairs as I fed Mia and shouted, "You gotta come up here! All of Cole's hair is layin' in the floor cause Dad just shaved it all off!" I went upstairs and I was sickened at what I saw. My boy's beautiful hair was all gone and all that was left was his little bitty head and his great big ears. He's my pride and joy... everybody knows it, but I must tell you it isn't a good look for him. So, I wasn't as pumped as I normally am to get that photo made. Luckily, his hair grows quickly and I know it will be cooler for football. Sigh... Mia is staying with my mom and dad in the mornings while I work. She did great today and took a long nap, which we are all glad of. She's been famous for the old-fashioned "cat nap" and I am welcoming more sleepy time for her, so I can get some of my mama time back. Right now, mama-time is non-existent. You know the old saying, that which does not kill us, makes us stronger. I am currently testing this saying to see if it's true. If I go missing, please look for me under the rubble of laundry. :)

Much love,
Ashley

Back to Life, Back to Reality...

I used to love this song, and I still sing it when I am trying to be joyful when I'm not feeling joyful. So, I went back to work Monday. I needed more time, more rest, more adjustment to my new life, but unfortunately I also need to get paid. How do all my friends take these long maternity leaves, these weeks/months of FMLA and still pay for their house, buy food, etc. etc.? That is the big question for me. Can you tell I'm just a tad resentful? Oh, well. It is what it is and we will make it. So, on to better topics. The family is doing well. Mia is adjusting well and is getting more and more comfortable with the new home, the new family, and our life. As I've said before, this is a marathon, not a sprint and we celebrate little successes because we know that family is a new concept for Mia. Last week, she had her appointment at the International Adoption Clinic in Birmingham. She checked out well and the social worker was pleased with the bond she said she could tell was forming between the two of us. She talked with me a good bit about the importance of the mother/child bond. This bond shapes who we are, who we will grow to be. This time in Mia's life is critical because she will learn to trust or mistrust. She will learn to accept love and reciprocate that love to others. She told me that my going back to work would be difficult and to expect some regression. She didn't beat me up because I was going back to work, but she did offer support and advice for the future. I appreciate that and her talking with me helped. The brothers... they love Mia. They play with her and tote her around like a sack of potatoes a lot of the time. I am embarrassed to admit that one of their all-time favorite movies is "Major Payne" and they respond to their dad's barking many times with "thur yeth thur", just like in the movie. I always giggle under my breath because I find their mocking hilarious, but I want to support the daddy too. Anyways, guess what the little sister's first American words were? "Thur yeth thur" ... I will video this for all of you to see. Unbelievable... I was expecting Mama or Dada... not an excerpt from a silly movie. Oh, well, even I can see the humor in this. What can I say? She's joining a family of all boys. We are learning that Mia had the nickname of "Little Bee" at her orphanage for a reason. She is into everything. She loves to open cabinets, plays in our dishwasher, feeds the dog snacks (who is highly food allergic I might add), and steals the remote to the TV every chance she gets. She is so, so funny. In China, I doubted that she could walk. Today, I watched her run as she chased Nolan and my niece Molly, in a game of hide-and-seek. So, in the big scheme of things, Mia is doing great. I am discovering that I am going to have to be a much better time-manager at home. The boys go back to school Monday, Cole is playing football, he is the waterboy for the Varsity team, and Garrett is the waterboy for the Jr. High team. We are about to shift into high gear and I'm going to have to get ultra-organized. I was thinking today that I probably ought to renew my Sam's Club membership, because these kids are eating like crazy. I am making a grocery store run every day. I am working on a new family blog, but that is a project that will wait for a little while longer. Until then, I will continue to post here. I am continually meeting people who have read our blog, or are familiar with our story. My cup runneth over...

Much love,
Ashley

One Week at HOME

Well, we've been home one week today. I know you all have wondered why I haven't posted. I've done exactly what I said I wouldn't do, which is to leave all my blog-fans hanging. I underesimated the effect that jet-lag and a newly adopted child would have on my free time... giggle, giggle. My apologies, I will try to do a better job this week. Thanks for hanging in there with me while I get some much needed rest. It's been a week of small milestones, laughter, tears, and lots of visits and phone calls from people who love us. We have felt such an outpouring of love from so many and it is a wonderful feeling. Mia... she loves her brothers. Especially Cole, our oldest son. She allows him to hold her and carry her anywhere. She will also allow our other two boys to do the same, as well as my nephew, Will. Mia is still forming a relationship with her daddy, but I see definite progress. He holds her a little now without much protest, and he is still working hard to earn her favor. She is learning how to play with her toys and when she relaxes she actually enjoys it. She smiles a funny little grin for the camera and she blows kisses to most everyone she meets, which is so sweet. She giggles when we tickle her and she wakes up happy most of the time. Mia LOVES the swimming pool and she kicks those little legs and tries to stick her face in the water. She is still very watchful of where I am in the house and when new people come in, she clings to me for a long time, just to be sure that we don't hand her off, or at least that's what I think. The jet-lag has been hard and I can't say that I am back 100%, but we are feeling more normal again. Mia had a hard time sleeping through the night for the first few days, however, she has slept all night for the past two nights, so I think she is recovering too. We went shopping yesterday with my mom, sister, niece, and nephew. She seemed to like being in busy places. We went to church today and what a thrill that was. She is an answered prayer, one that can be visibly seen and touched and it was wonderful to be back in our church to worship a faithful God. Our church family loved meeting Mia and we all said prayers of thanks for all that God has done for us and for Mia. Garrett leaves for camp in the morning, and I wish he wasn't, but he begged to go, and for a little couch-potato that he is, I felt like I needed to grant his request. Nolan is beginning to show signs of jealousy, so I'm going to spend some individual time with him tomorrow after we get Garrett off. We are going to buy school supplies! He is really excited about going to big school. And I am sad, because it means he is growing up and I just want him to stay little. We had a visit from another China mommy today who will be leaving to go get her baby girl in a couple of months. It seems just like yesterday that I was impatiently waiting to leave for Mia. All in all, I think Mia is doing great. She is learning little by little that we are trustworthy and that we love her. She is getting to know our family, who all love her too and I have to think that must be reassuring, even though she knows nothing of the concept of family. At times throughout the week, I found myself worrying... "I'm too old for this... "Lord, are you sure this was your plan?" and the famous..."I'm a terrible mother...", all of which I believe originates from exhaustion and the lull that comes after such a long-awaited event. But I distinctly feel that each time I thought these things, God prompted me to think about the good... the lovely, the beauty that has come from this situation and then I feel encouraged that He will prosper this family. He will.. One week later, I'm more rested and she seems a little more at ease. We have a long way to go, but I am encouraged. What God has called us to, He will see us through. Well, gotta go... Mia has a stinky diaper... I think I'm too old for this...:)

Much love,
Ashley

At Home... At Last...

Now that the trip is behind me, I think I'd just prefer not to dwell on the "getting home" aspect of the trip, however, there is one thing I MUST share about it. Do you remember my post last week about praying that we'd be able to switch seats to bulk-head so we could get a bassinet for Mia and more leg room to put her down a little? Do you remember the part about the flight was sold out... but that I felt like God would work this out? Well, He did. We got to the check-in counter in Hong Kong and the attendant changed out seats when I asked for a bassinet. Guess what she changed them to? The ones I asked God for. Wow... Wow... Suffice it to say, that even with the great seats the flight was brutal, it was painful, it was exhausting... but the good news is that we made it and we are now home. We were met with a crowd of family and good friends at the airport to meet Mia for the first time. Just as I'd imagined all these months, I was so touched by that moment, seeing all the people I loved waiting for us. Three of my friends dressed up with big propeller bows in their hair. Another long-time friend met me with a diet coke and a cupcake. We made the ride home well, Mia slept until 5 am, and we took a couple of naps today. My aunt Kathy made us a delicious breakfast casserole to have for our first breakfast and I loved seeing all of my babies sitting at that table with me. Tonight, we went to my grandparents' house for a home-cooked meal of fresh vegetables from the family garden. So good... My brain is still fuzzy from jet-lag, but despite all of that, I can appreciate the fact that we've made it. We have a lot of work to do in terms of helping Mia form strong attachments with us and this will take time. But at least we are home and after we've recovered from this jet-lag, we can get back to our lives. But now it is just starting to hit me... I have four kids... Four. I must be nuts. LOL...

Much love,
Ashley

Goodbye to China

Wow... I thought about what I would write today for my last post from China. I am so thankful that we've made it to this point. We have a beautiful little daughter and she is soon to be a US citizen. She will no longer be destined for the hard life that would have been hers had she stayed here with "parents unknown" listed on her birth certificate. Orphans are considered to be "bad luck" here. When you meet Mia, and I so hope you do, you will see this little girl is anything but "bad luck". I know that we are about to take her from the only home she has ever known, but I know the one I'm taking her to is better. She now can be raised in a family who trust God... not Buddha. She can go to school, go on vacation, have friends, attend college, and choose her own life. But most importantly, when the chips are down, when the day has been rough, when it is Christmas time, or a birthday... she has a home... a home with a mama, a daddy, brothers , grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins to go to to be loved. She will never be alone. She has us... for better, for worse. For someone who has ALWAYS had the gift of a loving, supportive family, the thought of being an orphan is mind-boggling. God does not intend for us to be orphaned. He intends for us all to be in a loving family. He proved this with the gift of His own Son... who came to rescue us all. Griff and I feel so humbled that God called us to such a wonderful thing as adopting one of these precious children into our family. She will be our daily reminder of the love of Christ, of the importance of home. I encourage ALL of you to search your hearts, to pray diligently on what God may want you and your family to do for "the least of these". There are orphans everywhere... not just in China. There are orphans in our own hometown. Adoption is one way, the best way to help these children. Other ways are through orphanage sponsorship... like "Love Without Boundaries", "Half the Sky", and others. The latest statistic I saw on Orphan Sunday last November, was that if only 6% of the Christian population adopted one orphan, there would be no orphans left in the world. The main thing is do something. Ask God to give you clear direction. We have seen firsthand that God smiles on obedience and He blesses those who bless. We have a feeling that our blessing is just beginning.
To our boys: We have missed you more that you will ever know. This has been hard to leave you for such a long time, but we know that bringing Mia home is very important and that you understand. It won't be long now and we will all be home together. Can't wait to see you in Birmingham.
For those of you who are local, we are set to arrive in Birmingham on Sunday, July 18 at 8:18 pm. If you feel led to come, please do. Again, for all of you... thanks for the prayers and for your kind words of encouragement and support. We thank God for you all. Almost home...

"I will not leave you as orphans... I will come to you." John 14:18

Much love,
Ashley

Thursday in Guangzhou

Well, we are getting ready to call it a day. We went to the Botanical Gardens this morning. When we first left the hotel, it was a bit cloudy, so our guide was optimistic that it wouldn't be AS hot as previous days. WRONG... that sun came out and WHAM! I was sweating so badly that it was dripping into my eyes. Mia gets this prickly heat rash when we are outdoors for very long we have discovered, so it didn't take long before she was broken out all over. There was an indoor area with lots of beautiful orchids, ferns, palms, and succulents. At the top of the gardens, was a large rose garden. The roses were pretty, but as much as I hate to say it, we just couldn't get into the Botanical Gardens because of the brutal heat. I think that I probably would have enjoyed it... in February... LOL... We went back to the hotel and tried to get in a quick rest and then met again in a couple of hours to head over to the U.S. Consulate Building to take our oath. This oath ceremony is done as a group, and the consulate officer comes out and you repeat after her that basically you've been honest with all information regarding your child's adoption and pending citizenship. The officer congratulated us, because basically we had run the race and won... our child had been successfully adopted and their U.S. citizenship would go into affect once our plane touched ground in the U.S. Several of the mamas in our group cried... I almost did. For some reason, I think I'm able to hold back my emotions now, but when I finally get off that plane in Birmingham, Alabama... I may totally lose myself for a few minutes. It seems like this adoption has been going on forever, but in actuality, ours has been in record speed. Most of the families in our group have been waiting for this day for well over four years. After the oath ceremony, we had dinner with our good friends we've made from Georgia. Their daughter, Ruthie, is a few months older than Mia. I really hope that our girls can remain friends. Us mommies, too, of course. We ate at our favorite Italian restaurant that has kept us alive over the last couple of weeks. We will begin packing up tomorrow to prepare for our trip home. There are no words to describe how glad I'll be to finally be home with Mia, to see my boys again, to see my family, to sleep in my own bed, etc. etc. Only two more days... You all cannot know how much I look forward to reading your comments on my blog each day. It has helped me very much to know that so many care about us. Until tomorrow...

Much love,
Ashley