tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57719683520969719512024-03-13T08:39:30.251-05:00Waiting For Maggie"I shall be called by a new name,
embraced by a fresh pair of arms,
but I shall come and go, the eternal me."
~attributed to Rabindranath TagoreBryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05627282917736636644noreply@blogger.comBlogger115125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-77699054603158237732013-07-04T07:39:00.000-05:002013-07-04T07:39:43.379-05:00Free Day 7/3/2013<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qiMt06D39_g/UdVli8g_89I/AAAAAAAABFM/8-rqFs-Ambg/s1600/Breakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qiMt06D39_g/UdVli8g_89I/AAAAAAAABFM/8-rqFs-Ambg/s320/Breakfast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast with a view.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We all woke up feeling much better on Wednesday morning. We slept in until 5:30! After a good breakfast at the buffet, we headed to the local department store for some water, ramen and snacks for the girls. We got there early, watched some girls march around in uniform for a bit (more on this later), then sat on the steps <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rX2oSJ0-hW4/UdVlGNhkDvI/AAAAAAAABFE/pSXmVVp1TGY/s1600/Waiting+for+store+to+open.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rX2oSJ0-hW4/UdVlGNhkDvI/AAAAAAAABFE/pSXmVVp1TGY/s200/Waiting+for+store+to+open.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the store to open.</td></tr>
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for a while until we realized they didn't open until 9 a.m. so we headed back to the hotel. We got back to the <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F8Co3D18R_A/UdVkvY6bZoI/AAAAAAAABE8/WmUP2k4pqbM/s1600/Marching+girls.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F8Co3D18R_A/UdVkvY6bZoI/AAAAAAAABE8/WmUP2k4pqbM/s320/Marching+girls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marching girls.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
department store just before 9 and heard the sound of a marching band playing. Hmm....that's <br />
different! The girls we had seen earlier were now playing instruments and played a song to open the store. Someone really needs to talk to Target corporate about this, I can really see it catching on in the states. <br />
<br />
We bought some ramen for the girls to have for lunch and Margaret was very impressed that there is an entire aisle of the grocery store dedicated to just ramen. Ella is barely tolerating our shenanigans at<br />
this point, haha! Welcome to the family my dear!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSkE8g5CxQo/UdVmkC7WOHI/AAAAAAAABFc/5qggyiOp_f4/s1600/Noodles+whoohooo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSkE8g5CxQo/UdVmkC7WOHI/AAAAAAAABFc/5qggyiOp_f4/s320/Noodles+whoohooo.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
We went back to the hotel, had some lunch and then we took the girls swimming. Getting through the fitness center and into the pool is not easy here, it involved signing in, buying swim caps, going into the dressing room and walking through a shallow pool of water to clean our feet before entering the pool, but we got 'r done. Stay tuned for pictures of me looking hot in a swim cap. Sorry boys, this old lady is taken.<br /><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XMULXyp_Z_o/UdVn62QX-OI/AAAAAAAABF0/UE3GKVFS8Ws/s1600/Swimming+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XMULXyp_Z_o/UdVn62QX-OI/AAAAAAAABF0/UE3GKVFS8Ws/s320/Swimming+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Testing the temp.</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GL-I4MgkhPo/UdVn5kHojTI/AAAAAAAABFs/6TZySkJbCFk/s1600/Swimming+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GL-I4MgkhPo/UdVn5kHojTI/AAAAAAAABFs/6TZySkJbCFk/s320/Swimming+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella is not sure she wants to get in.</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iLFGPvLdiU/UdVn893UMqI/AAAAAAAABF8/W664K6BKO10/s1600/Swimming+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iLFGPvLdiU/UdVn893UMqI/AAAAAAAABF8/W664K6BKO10/s320/Swimming+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barely tolerating this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IX_W_YFh8PY/UdVn-hxmINI/AAAAAAAABGE/WUoeFGF2O8o/s1600/Swimming+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IX_W_YFh8PY/UdVn-hxmINI/AAAAAAAABGE/WUoeFGF2O8o/s320/Swimming+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking some time to get used to the water on her own terms.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agtwai9LvhA/UdVoAT7valI/AAAAAAAABGM/9lso8TmV-4I/s1600/Swimming+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agtwai9LvhA/UdVoAT7valI/AAAAAAAABGM/9lso8TmV-4I/s320/Swimming+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becoming more comfortable.</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p4IHY37i0w4/UdVoDT2yNDI/AAAAAAAABGU/mWemWokqMt0/s1600/Swimming+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p4IHY37i0w4/UdVoDT2yNDI/AAAAAAAABGU/mWemWokqMt0/s320/Swimming+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm....maybe this pool with mama thing isn't all <i>that </i>bad.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-auHoxYT_Siw/UdVoFKq8yYI/AAAAAAAABGk/rutbOiD2gPs/s1600/Swimming+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-auHoxYT_Siw/UdVoFKq8yYI/AAAAAAAABGk/rutbOiD2gPs/s320/Swimming+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This might actually be fun!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />This trip to the pool was all part of my evil plan to get her to trust me, and I think it worked!! <br /><i>See Ella! Mama didn't let you sink to the bottom! Are we good? </i><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSkE8g5CxQo/UdVmkC7WOHI/AAAAAAAABFc/5qggyiOp_f4/s1600/Noodles+whoohooo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-72331343563726891472013-07-03T23:42:00.003-05:002013-07-04T20:27:05.565-05:00Daniella Ding's Adoption Day 7/2/13<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s1600/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAmMI6tKulA/UdT1cEq7CsI/AAAAAAAABEQ/inHti_HI6wA/s1600/Handprint+cropped.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I'm sorry that I haven't updated the blog since Monday, it's been tough to keep up with blogging and Facebooking and parenting. This adoption is so different from Margaret's. Maggie was so young and had no idea what was going on, she grieved hard for a few days, but then was better and we moved on. Not that it was easy, it was still hard and it took months to really settle her in, but it was a simpler process. Ella is a tougher nut to crack. She likes us (most of the time) and I think she knows that this is the best for her but she is old enough to realize everything she is losing too. She would prefer to turn on soap operas and lose herself in the TV or a game on the tablet. We have been letting her have the time to do that, I understand her need to disconnect, but I also feel she needs to be brought back into the fold. We have set limits on TV time and screen time, but they are still on them a lot. It is so stinking hot here, we don't go out much past 10 a.m. or so and we are running out of things to do in the room. Yesterday was 99 and windy, today will be 95 and windy, repeat repeat repeat.<br />
::::::::::::::::::::::::::<br />
So - let's start back where we left off. Tuesday morning we woke up around 4:30 and Ding came into our room not much after. She sat on the end of our bed, but wouldn't come closer. We hung out for a bit until Margaret woke up and they played and watched TV, I helped Ella and Margaret pick out their clothes and get dressed and then we all went to breakfast. I helped Ella get all her food and got her situated at the table. We've been trying to get her to stop being so independent and to say "mama help" when she needs my help. It's been slow, she just really wants to do things for herself and sometimes I'm not her favorite person, but we are going to keep on trying. I feed her, I dress her, I bathe her (whether she wants me to or not).<br />
<br />
We met our guide down in the lobby at 9:00 and headed back to Civil Affairs to officially adopt Ella. The girls were doing well there, Ella was smiling as our guide put her hand print put on the adoption docs. <br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAmMI6tKulA/UdT1cEq7CsI/AAAAAAAABEQ/inHti_HI6wA/s1600/Handprint+cropped.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAmMI6tKulA/UdT1cEq7CsI/AAAAAAAABEQ/inHti_HI6wA/s320/Handprint+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a>Margaret and Ella were playing with the other girls being adopted that
day. One little cutie is also from Xiaoxian, but had been in care up by
Beijing, the other girl was from Bengbu. <br />
We visited the registrar down the hall and he asked us questions like "how long have
you been married?", "do you have biological children?" and "why do you
want to adopt a child from China?". That one was easy - I told him Anhui
girls are the best, but Xiaoxian girls are even better. He asked us if
we promised to always care for her and to never abandon her, and we of
course said, "Yes! We promise!" We went back into the conference room
and waited to meet with the notary. Ding was called over by the SWI Director and he said something to her that made her cry. She just stood there with big silent tears rolling down her face. I have no idea what he said, it could have been as innocuous as "you'll never see us again". We may never know. All I know is that my heart broke in two for our sweet girl right then and there. I pulled her to me and put her on my lap, wiped her tears and just poured as much love as I could onto her. She was stiff and still crying silently. It was so <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s1600/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s200/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She is officially ours!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
hard. She cried for a few more minutes and we tried to distract her with the camera on Bryan's phone. We <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s1600/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>then went to meet with the notary, she asked us the same questions and made sure all of our documents were signed and in order. We had to wait in the conference room for our official adoption documents to be given <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s1600/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>to us and then we were allowed to leave. <br />
<br />
After we got back to the room, I was not feeling well at all so I had to lay down. Traveling to China with a gluten intolerance is a risk (heck eating anywhere outside of my house is a risk) and I must have eaten something I shouldn't have at breakfast. I was having only neuro problems from the gluten (bad mood, fatigue, dizziness, restless leg syndrome) and Ella bore the brunt of me not feeling well. She had grabbed my camera without asking (we're still working on this) and I took it from her and told her no. She then grabbed Bryan's camera instead and I yelled at her. She started crying again and I felt so bad for her. It was such an emotional day and I was not being the parent she needed. I apologized to her, but the damage was done, she did not like me for a long time after that. I went into the girl's room to sleep and Bryan hung out with the girls in our room for the rest of the afternoon. They played Twister and games on the tablets and watched Chinese soap operas. Bryan snapped this photo of Ella while I was sleeping, she liked <i>him </i>that day.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQWhBLjE6vQ/UdT9mxYooGI/AAAAAAAABEs/c_8yMRFNf5Y/s1600/Happy+on+the+tablet+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jQWhBLjE6vQ/UdT9mxYooGI/AAAAAAAABEs/c_8yMRFNf5Y/s320/Happy+on+the+tablet+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=5771968352096971951" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>We hung out in the room the rest of the day and ordered in room service. I had a Kind bar and some fruit for dinner, the girls shared a bowl of spaghetti. We watched TV and put the girls to bed at 8:00. <br />
<br />
Adoption - the hardest best thing we've ever done. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QOK3oD6Xjms/UdT2XWUP-UI/AAAAAAAABEc/oV-Rx7TUM28/s1600/Adoption+Certificate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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p.s. Margaret and I have been role-playing how to ask for things. She will point to the camera and say "mama please?" and I will say "OK" and give it to her. We then have Ding do it. This is helping.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QAmMI6tKulA/UdT1cEq7CsI/AAAAAAAABEQ/inHti_HI6wA/s1600/Handprint+cropped.jpg"><br /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-44436850141732438272013-07-01T08:38:00.001-05:002013-07-01T08:38:55.112-05:00We Have Our Girl!Over 6 years ago, we were given a camera with pictures of Margaret at the XiaoXian orphanage with her guai guai next to her. Today we brought her guai guai Ding home, tomorrow she is ours forever.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIcm5jtZaho/UdF-o3QzsuI/AAAAAAAABB8/onCk-chA0U4/s1600/Ding+with+Dep+Director+Wang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFVl0ERKIGw/UdF_X6E27cI/AAAAAAAABDU/yyqbht2L-NU/s1600/Sisters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7LF7896E4/UdF_Mw3RK6I/AAAAAAAABCE/FS0snlwyElk/s1600/Group+Photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIcm5jtZaho/UdF-o3QzsuI/AAAAAAAABB8/onCk-chA0U4/s1600/Ding+with+Dep+Director+Wang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
We arrived early to the Civil Affairs office and were lead to a room on the 4th floor. The Orphanage Director and Deputy Director Wang were waiting for us with Ding. We have no pictures or video of the moment we met because we weren't expecting them to be there!<br /><br />Pictures from the Civil Affairs office:<br />
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIcm5jtZaho/UdF-o3QzsuI/AAAAAAAABB8/onCk-chA0U4/s1600/Ding+with+Dep+Director+Wang.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eIcm5jtZaho/UdF-o3QzsuI/AAAAAAAABB8/onCk-chA0U4/s200/Ding+with+Dep+Director+Wang.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ding with Deputy Director Wang</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFVl0ERKIGw/UdF_X6E27cI/AAAAAAAABDU/yyqbht2L-NU/s1600/Sisters.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aFVl0ERKIGw/UdF_X6E27cI/AAAAAAAABDU/yyqbht2L-NU/s320/Sisters.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sisters! Ding Dang and Mao Mao</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q6MHmhe8ZI/UdF_UyLeMUI/AAAAAAAABC8/X5i-OLP1geA/s1341/SWI+Director.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6Q6MHmhe8ZI/UdF_UyLeMUI/AAAAAAAABC8/X5i-OLP1geA/s320/SWI+Director.jpg" width="268" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7LF7896E4/UdF_Mw3RK6I/AAAAAAAABCE/FS0snlwyElk/s1600/Group+Photo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7LF7896E4/UdF_Mw3RK6I/AAAAAAAABCE/FS0snlwyElk/s320/Group+Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9kGej_nwBI/UdF_SrC543I/AAAAAAAABCs/SlWVxyOsdpA/s906/Registration+Photo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H9kGej_nwBI/UdF_SrC543I/AAAAAAAABCs/SlWVxyOsdpA/s320/Registration+Photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Registration Photo for our Adoption Certificate tomorrow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4peEx89Yqw/UdF_VidRH7I/AAAAAAAABDE/FunVOWvgidc/s1600/Noodles+Margaret.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4peEx89Yqw/UdF_VidRH7I/AAAAAAAABDE/FunVOWvgidc/s200/Noodles+Margaret.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gS3FX3tw8cg/UdF_RnRLv-I/AAAAAAAABCk/sy-bQOYr6c8/s1600/Noodles+Ding.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gS3FX3tw8cg/UdF_RnRLv-I/AAAAAAAABCk/sy-bQOYr6c8/s200/Noodles+Ding.jpg" width="200" /></a>She is a little peanut of a thing, exactly the same size as Margaret even though she's 15 months older. She was really quiet at first, but blossomed over lunch at the Noodle Restaurant. If you were following our trip to Margaret 6 years ago, you'll remember that those noodles are <i>magical</i>. The noodle bowls were huge and she finished it! She ate more than her baba - I was impressed! (and also a little worried that she was going to be sick) She ate the first half of her noodles with her chopsticks, but switched to a fork to be like Margaret. She rambles on to us and tells us things in Chinese and I just look at her and say "I have no idea what you are saying sweet pea!" And she'll just keep talking and I heard her say "mama bu shuo zhong wen" (mama doesn't speak Chinese). Mama speaks enough Chinese to understand that - so there!<br /><br /><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q5pHonwF6K4/UdF_NaiLF3I/AAAAAAAABCU/35r0p0CTTII/s1600/Ding+and+Mama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q5pHonwF6K4/UdF_NaiLF3I/AAAAAAAABCU/35r0p0CTTII/s320/Ding+and+Mama.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4DKAmkphFIQ/UdF_RBMkX-I/AAAAAAAABCc/iZU0gOwLf7o/s1600/MaoMao+and+Mama.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4DKAmkphFIQ/UdF_RBMkX-I/AAAAAAAABCc/iZU0gOwLf7o/s320/MaoMao+and+Mama.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nn7LF7896E4/UdF_Mw3RK6I/AAAAAAAABCE/FS0snlwyElk/s1600/Group+Photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3udkhVKr7EQ/UdF_NU9bWfI/AAAAAAAABCI/oGR03lFIRSo/s1600/Jennifer+Hnilo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3udkhVKr7EQ/UdF_NU9bWfI/AAAAAAAABCI/oGR03lFIRSo/s320/Jennifer+Hnilo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TqqwZwucM6M/UdF_THPGnvI/AAAAAAAABC0/Kv3cnBvbSB4/s1600/Legos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TqqwZwucM6M/UdF_THPGnvI/AAAAAAAABC0/Kv3cnBvbSB4/s320/Legos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Having Margaret here has really helped with her transition. She taught Ding how to play Temple Run on the tablet and we are already limiting screen time for both of them. They watched Chinese soap operas together, played Twister and Legos, played with hair clips and looked over Ding's English workbook. She knows "thank you", "WC", "you're welcome" and "banana". Now that she has been playing Temple Run with Margaret, she knows the word JUMP!! She willingly shares her things with Margaret and Margaret can't figure out why. I told her Ding's being a good sister to her, now take the toy and say xie xie! <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sLZh7qxp7Ns/UdF_ZEYt-pI/AAAAAAAABDc/LvWEYENFCr8/s1600/Twister+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="451" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sLZh7qxp7Ns/UdF_ZEYt-pI/AAAAAAAABDc/LvWEYENFCr8/s640/Twister+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TWISTER!! Fun in any language!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We ordered dinner from room service and found a nice grocery store behind the hotel. Ding had a bath and I was told she would need help shampooing her hair. I'm not sure what she's used to, but this mama does NOT have the magic. She got upset and cried a little bit when she got a bit of water on her face. I rubbed her back and told her she was doing a good job and when I toweled her off I kissed her on the head. She looked up at me like she was surprised. <br />Ding, you are a wonderful, sweet and beautiful girl. We are going to work hard so that you will never be surprised by affection again. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0W_EoRHEnrU/UdGDpHzwEJI/AAAAAAAABD8/lpEivh_o-l4/s1600/Toothbrushing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><br />We put the girls to bed at 8:30. Gave them both hugs and kisses and told them wo ai ni. It's been a good day. She is so brave. They both are.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0W_EoRHEnrU/UdGDpHzwEJI/AAAAAAAABD8/lpEivh_o-l4/s1600/Toothbrushing.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0W_EoRHEnrU/UdGDpHzwEJI/AAAAAAAABD8/lpEivh_o-l4/s320/Toothbrushing.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MHJQH0CdoG8/UdGDc8eX4iI/AAAAAAAABD0/NWdUqmBSl3o/s1600/Bedtime.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0W_EoRHEnrU/UdGDpHzwEJI/AAAAAAAABD8/lpEivh_o-l4/s1600/Toothbrushing.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MHJQH0CdoG8/UdGDc8eX4iI/AAAAAAAABD0/NWdUqmBSl3o/s1600/Bedtime.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MHJQH0CdoG8/UdGDc8eX4iI/AAAAAAAABD0/NWdUqmBSl3o/s320/Bedtime.jpg" width="320" /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-6208017508605863702013-06-24T18:15:00.000-05:002013-06-26T09:14:38.343-05:00How You Can Help in Our Sprint to Our Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ytaeHrNmLU/UcjMWDNyUII/AAAAAAAABBM/f4Kjb700Biw/s1600/Family+means+no+one+gets+left+behind+or+forgotten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ytaeHrNmLU/UcjMWDNyUII/AAAAAAAABBM/f4Kjb700Biw/s640/Family+means+no+one+gets+left+behind+or+forgotten.jpg" width="440" /></a><a href="https://www.brittanyshope.org/seedling/mickelson/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="94" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncllr1EdBQU/UcjMcUTV32I/AAAAAAAABBY/9nXuQTL_RgI/s200/BHF+logo.png" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ncllr1EdBQU/UcjMcUTV32I/AAAAAAAABBY/9nXuQTL_RgI/s1600/BHF+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, know that we were praying for 3 things to happen so we could beat the consulate closure in mid-July and not be delayed in getting our girl. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We would need our Travel Approval to come by last Friday, we would need one of the few Consulate Appointments left for July 9th - 11th, and we would need the provincial government in Anhui to allow us to pick her up on July 1st. Since Friday, all of these things have happened!! We received an email this morning saying we need to be in Anhui on Sunday, to get Ella on Monday, July 1st. That means leaving Friday. Yes, THIS Friday!<br /><br />We are so excited. And a little bit scared. And panicking just a tiny bit. But I would rather race to my girl with 4 days notice than be delayed 2 weeks or possibly even into August.<br /><br />A few weeks ago, we were generously awarded a Brittany's Hope Foundation (BHF) grant and our webpage is now active. They will give us a grant of <i>up to</i> $5,000, we just need to raise $2,500. If we do not raise the full matching amount, they will award us whatever has been donated<i><b>, </b>and <b>ALL </b>of your donations will go to our family, but if we hit $2,500 BHF will double your money <b>up to</b> $5,000.</i> This money will put a major dent in our airline fees and other travel expenses we are incurring in the next 2 weeks.<br /><br />If you'd like to help us sprint to our girl, <a href="https://www.brittanyshope.org/seedling/mickelson/" target="_blank">please click this link</a> or click on the Brittany's Hope logo up there on the right. You can donate online or you can print out the form on the website. If you can't print the form, I will put the address at the bottom of this post. You just need to send a note that your donation is for The Mickelson Family and they will credit our account. Or you can always stop by Grandma Lois' house and throw some cash at her and we will get it to BHF. <i>We are flexible like that.</i> Brittany's Hope has given us an extension on our fundraising efforts since we are leaving so soon. Our page will be active while we are gone and we will continue to fundraise after we get home as needed.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />All donations are tax-deductible and Brittany's Hope will send you a receipt.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you for loving us and supporting us for the last year as we have worked to bring home our girl. Love you all and I cannot wait for you to meet our Ella.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brittany's Hope Foundation</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1160 North Market Street </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Elizabethtown, PA 17022<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*please add a note that it is for the Mickelson family<br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Update 6/26/13:</span> $860 in 24 hours, plus an employee match from Microsoft that hasn't arrived yet. Thank you family & friends! We are a third of the way there! Whoohoo!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-45197095840088227262013-02-27T16:50:00.000-06:002013-06-24T18:17:39.617-05:00Gluten Free Travel in ChinaWhile not easy, being gluten free in China is definitely something that can be done. I spent 10 days in rural China in the fall of 2010 and ate very well. We ate breakfast buffets at the hotels every morning and traditional Chinese buffet lunches with SWI directors and Civil Affairs for every lunch and dinner. They were very accommodating and always had rice, lamb soup, steamed vegetables, steamed prawns and other simple dishes for me. I was very careful about what I ate and after every meal I took a GlutenEase pill and two probiotics.<br />
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I would recommend showing both of the attached cards to your guide and have them navigate for you for your first dinner out. Once you are comfortable in China and are a little more brave, you can venture out on your own.<br />
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This is the traditional card that you will find online. It has a very basic outline of what you can and cannot eat. I like how it says "my intestine would bleed", fear is a great motivator!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JGTF_6y8hrI/US6KUDbgckI/AAAAAAAAA_s/PceFNGY9sm4/s1600/GF+mandarin+and+english+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JGTF_6y8hrI/US6KUDbgckI/AAAAAAAAA_s/PceFNGY9sm4/s400/GF+mandarin+and+english+card.jpg" width="336" /></a><br />
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I also brought a printout of this note with me. I found it on someone's blog and I believe the translation is something like, "I will die a horrible death on your restaurant floor if you feed me gluten!" <br />Edited 6/24 to add: It does say this! Confirmed by a friend in Hong Kong. Awesome!<br />
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Good luck. Have fun. Be adventurous...but not too much. You need to be well and able to navigate parenting your new child, travel, sightseeing and much more on your trip. I personally would rather go hungry and eat a Lara Bar back at the hotel room than risk being glutened and be sick for days.<br />
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I will do a follow-up post later on the food that I am planning to bring with for our next trip.<br />
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3/2/13 Edited to add this link: <br />
<h2 align="center">
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Backpacking, Biking, Briefcase & Travel Foods</b></span></h2>
<a href="http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/backpack.html">http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/backpack.html</a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-78630729080115780392012-10-05T09:15:00.001-05:002012-10-05T09:15:41.343-05:00The Perfect Quote<a href="http://www.storypeople.com/" target="_blank">Brian Andreas</a> put this on Twitter the other day:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had a question about life today & the whole day is the perfect
answer & I want to grab people & say 'Don't you just love when
that happens?'</span></i></blockquote>
Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-81003542085685990172012-08-23T12:58:00.000-05:002013-02-08T08:56:12.646-06:00Waiting for....Ella!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Our family is over the moon excited to announce that our next daughter will be ELLA!!! We received pre-approval from China to adopt our Ella. Why am I saying "our" Ella? Well, there's a story here, and it's long, 5 years long. But it's good, so very very good. Grab a cup of coffee and make yourself comfortable, do I have a tale for you.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-svJv_8poxl8/UDZcc0DG0TI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/2O8hyzBRKuQ/s1600/Maggie+and+Ella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-svJv_8poxl8/UDZcc0DG0TI/AAAAAAAAA-Y/2O8hyzBRKuQ/s320/Maggie+and+Ella.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie and her guaiguai at the orphanage Jan. 2007</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When our Maggie came to us in January of 2007, she
carried with her the photo album and disposable camera we had sent and not much
more. After we arrived home, we developed the film and noticed a little pixie
of a girl in some of the pictures. Maggie would point and call her guaiguai
(darling). </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoUnEDQWBQc/UDZdsTcTbyI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ScKw2an-OkI/s1600/Ella+2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZoUnEDQWBQc/UDZdsTcTbyI/AAAAAAAAA-g/ScKw2an-OkI/s200/Ella+2006.JPG" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ella, 2009</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two years passed and I came into contact with Jodi, who was the XiaoXian
Foster Care Coordinator for Love Without Boundaries (LWB) at that time. She was
in dire need of sponsors for her program and asked me to look at the website
and see if I could sponsor a child. There, on the LWB website was my daughter's
friend, her guaiguai, LWB called her Ella. We became her sponsor and have been
supporting her in foster care ever since.</span> </div>
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About 3 months later, in September of 2009, I was going through some old files in our safe and came
across Maggie's finding ad. This is what I wrote on our blog:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5BN8IIPZQ0/UDZg0b523zI/AAAAAAAAA-w/nUb7AOisGvs/s1600/Finding+Ad+20051014+REVISED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-K5BN8IIPZQ0/UDZg0b523zI/AAAAAAAAA-w/nUb7AOisGvs/s400/Finding+Ad+20051014+REVISED.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>My heart shattered into a
million pieces yesterday.</i><br />
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<i>I found Maggie's "finding ad" that the orphanage placed in the
newspaper. And right there next to her, was our sponsored foster kid. Among all
the newborns was this toddler, a kid with special needs who was loved by a
family for 17 months before they were unable to care for her anymore.</i><br />
<i>17 months.</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.waitingformaggie.com/2009/09/shattered.html" target="_blank"><i>Shattered.</i></a></div>
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<i><br />
</i>That was the day I got into contact with LWB and volunteered my services. I
started working as an assistant to the XiaoXian program and eventually took it
over. </div>
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You will hear me say that my Maggie is the inspiration for my work with LWB, but that is only half the story. The whole story is that she left her Ella behind and I took it as my duty to take care of her and the others who are still waiting.<br />
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As the years have gone by, Maggie would still ask me about "her Ella". She
writes stories about her, paints pictures for her, and asks me why Ella's
forever family hasn't come to get her yet. Bryan would look at her foster care reports and say, "why can't we
just go pick her up? She would be the perfect sister for Maggie." I would look at her reports and send out a prayer to find this precious child a
family.<br />
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Ella's adoption file was prepared last summer/fall and then it disappeared. She never made the shared list, and she wasn't on any agency lists here in the US. Then, the other kids from XiaoXian whose files were prepared at the same time started getting matched to Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. No word on Ella. When her file hit the shared list in late May, I knew that her file had made the rounds of Europe, yet she remained unchosen. I was heartbroken for her. Who was going to step up for our Ella?</div>
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Bryan and I talked about adopting her, and decided that it was too difficult, too
complicated. Rules that would have to be bent, Maggie would be
displaced as the oldest and the one who gets to do things first. <b>Too hard, not for us.<i> </i></b></div>
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<i>(I know! I know! I'm the one who has drilled it into my daughter's head "you CAN do hard things!!")</i>
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I told my Mom that Ella was available for adoption and she said "<b>Mary Margaret, if you love her, go and get her</b>". I said,
"Mom, it is NOT that easy. There's the birth order issue, and our agency would
have to give us special approval, and she's 8 already, and and and....".<br />
<br />
And then the very next day I read <a href="http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=778" target="_blank">this article by Martha Osborne</a>, where she says, </div>
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<i>“I would never ask a family to
take on more than they can handle, <b>but I will always encourage families
to stretch.</b> There are only so many 3 or 4 year olds out there
and paper-ready to be adopted. There are far, far too many 7, 8, and 9 year
olds who have been waiting for their entire lives for someone to see just how
wonderful that they are.</i></div>
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<b><i>Stretch</i></b><i>.
It's good for the body, the mind, and the soul. And it's good for your life
(and the life of a waiting child).”</i></div>
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I had another talk with Bryan and I said, "This is
going to sound crazy, but the universe has been sending me signs, and I don't
think we can ignore them. Are we making this too complicated? Is my Mom right? <b>If
we love her, why don't we just go get her?</b>"</div>
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He agreed with me, we needed to stop over-thinking. It was time to jump in, feet first, deep end. The REALLY deep end.</div>
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I then had a talk with Maggie. I asked her how she would feel if we adopted a child who was older than her. She told me flat out
that she didn't want an older sibling. She told me she wanted to be first. She told me she <i>deserved </i>to be first. I
asked how she would feel if it was Ella and she said "Oh Mommy, I would do
it for Ella, <i>but no one else!</i>" I promised her that we would
try. We would ask about Ella and no matter the outcome, whether Ella comes home
to us, or goes home to another family, we will be happy for her because she has
waited far too long.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Referral Picture, 2011</td></tr>
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During all of this, and before we came to the decision to try to adopt Ella, I had been in touch with an advocate because I had been planning on finding a family for her. I read Ella’s file, and in there is another tiny bit of information that I
almost overlooked. In June of 2005, the Director of the XiaoXian SWI bundled up two
babies and sent them together to Bengbu for surgery. One of these was our daughter, Maggie, for her
teratoma resection. The other was Ella for her cleft repair. They came home <i>together </i>in early August. I like to think that two babies from the same orphanage might have shared a room, maybe even a bed. Once again,
her story has been woven into ours.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Referral Picture, 2011</td></tr>
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In early June, I wrote this story down in letter form and pleaded with the Older Child Committee at our agency to allow us to adopt our Ella. We went before the committee twice before getting approval. We were then given her referral, and we sent her file to the University of MN. They think she has a syndrome that is completely manageable and that her greatest need is for a family. We then had to write our Letter of Intent, get it translated and wait for China to give us pre-approval. We've been keeping this a secret since June and it's been killing me!! So, to all of you that knew I was being reticent when you asked me about our adoption, I'm sorry, but she wasn't ours yet, but now that she is I am ready to shout it from the rooftops!!</div>
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We are looking forward to traveling back to Hefei next summer to get our second XiaoXian daughter. We have known her and loved her as Ella for so long we have decided to keep her LWB name as part of her new American name, Daniella. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As I write this story down and look at it from above as a big picture, I
can see all of our paths clearly, shining like bright gold. It is beautiful and has come together perfectly. I don't believe in luck, or
coincidences. There's a higher power at work here and we are incredibly blessed.</span><br />
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Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-7803510855168043032012-02-06T09:14:00.003-06:002012-02-08T17:15:37.810-06:00XiaoXianIf you are an adoptive parent matched with a child, one of the very first things you do is run to Google and plug your child's hometown in just to see what you can find. Unfortunately for us XiaoXian parents, you don't find much. Or you end up here! : )<br /><br />XiaoXian is a small town (relatively speaking) of 2 million people. It is 4 1/2 hours north of Anhui's provincial capitol of Hefei. There is very little on the internet about XiaoXian and the surrounding area. I have compiled some video that I took of the city and put it on YouTube. I have the same background music in all of the videos, turn it down if it gets annoying.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/marym1968?feature=guide"><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"><img src="img/blank.gif" alt="Link" class="gl_link" border="0" /></span></span>Click here for my YouTube videos of XiaoXian.</a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br />(removed link to my Flickr account, leave me a message if you'd like access)<br /></span><br />If you are an adoptive parent of a XiaoXian child, please leave a comment for me, there are very few of us and I would like to get to know you!Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-5288942282740993782011-07-04T15:08:00.021-05:002011-08-03T17:00:45.011-05:00The Space Between<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Prpfgp-EBcI/ThIq55DmESI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/qvf6hxxduX4/s1600/IMG_5797c.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 223px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Prpfgp-EBcI/ThIq55DmESI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/qvf6hxxduX4/s320/IMG_5797c.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5625606058595979554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >The space between</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >the tears we cry</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >is the laughter</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >keeps us coming back for more.</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Dave Matthews</span><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />That one sentence gets me every time. Things that are true have a tendency to do that, ring down into the deepest part of your soul, hit you right ~there~.<br /><br />When you adopt a special needs child; even the most beautiful, healthy, gorgeous child, you sign up for uncertainty and what-ifs and could-be's. You don't think about it constantly, but it's there all the same, a little shadow in the corner. You learn the science and the statistics and you pray that you are not one of the unlucky few. You go to work and send your kid to school and you just live a typical suburban life...until the day the shadow steps into the center of the room and you realize you've come to the end of this space between.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><deep breath="">...deep breath...<br /></deep></div><br />So...Maggie has been having a few issues lately. Not a big deal, comes with the territory with kids born with fetal tumors. We took her up to Gillette for an MRI, an ultrasound and other pictures. What they found turned out to be a very big deal. She has a new tumor and it is pressing on things inside and that is why she is having symptoms. It is attached to what little is left of her tailbone from her original surgery. They did a blood test and they are fairly certain that her tumor is benign, but they will not know that for certain until it is removed and they send it to the U for testing. We met with Dr. Saltzman, the Chief of Pediatric Surgery from the U of M, and he will perform her surgery on July 18th at Gillette in St. Paul. He will resect her new tumor and the rest of her tailbone. If all goes well, she should be home by the 20th. Recovery will take a few weeks and she won't be able to ride her bike for a while. She should be back up to 100% by the time the new school year starts after Labor Day.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >[That whole thing about sending the tumor in for testing - we are not talking about that elephant in the room right now.]</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">What we need from you</span> - Prayers, we will accept prayers of any and all kinds. We are not picky! Pray for complete healing, pray for guidance for her doctors, pray to the Virgin Mary to watch over our child, pray that I can find gluten free food in the hospital cafeteria (hey, momma needs love too). Pray to God, Buddha, all the Catholic saints, we don't discriminate over here. Light a fire and dance naked around the desert if you must <span style="font-size:85%;">(just don't share the pictures on Facebook).</span></span><br /><br />Also, please say a prayer of thanksgiving that we live in Minnesota and have great doctors just up the road.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em>Do whatever it is you do to send positive healing light and love to our baby girl.</em></strong></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What we don't need right now</span> - tears, pity, awkwardness. And for God's sake, no one is allowed to buy her a pony!<br /><br />We have hit the end of our space between, but that's okay. There's another one coming and we can see it from here.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span style="font-style: italic;">08/03/11 Update</span></span>:<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-style: italic;">Maggie's surgery went off without a hitch on the 18th. He had planned for a 2-3 hour surgery and was in and out in 55 minutes. When he removed her tailbone, the tumor came right out with it and that was all that was needed. She spent just one night at Gillette Hospital, and was home by lunchtime the next day. The recovery period that was supposed to last 2-3 weeks only took one week!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-style: italic;">We had an appointment with her surgeon last Monday and he told us that the elephant in the room was gone. The tumor was completely benign, he got good margins, we're done. Just follow ups every 4 months for a year. It was at that point that I realized I had been holding my breath since May.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">He also took her off all restrictions. She can do whatever she wants, no worries. Bike, swim, play...whatever! We got home that afternoon and she asked me, "does this mean I can be a horse again?". Yes, Maggie, gallop to your hearts content. </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">We Are Done!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">I would like to thank everyone who prayed for our girl. My Facebook friends and your prayer groups, my LWB friends, and my Yahoo group friends who asked for "complete and pain free healing".<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >It worked, prayers were answered and we are so very grateful.</span></span><br /></div></div></div></blockquote>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-46663624552638659402010-05-10T12:14:00.004-05:002010-05-10T12:20:22.837-05:00Another update on our LWB babies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S-g_nAFS4GI/AAAAAAAAAy4/VRxcfuyBc-k/s1600/Margaret+March+2010.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 152px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S-g_nAFS4GI/AAAAAAAAAy4/VRxcfuyBc-k/s320/Margaret+March+2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469691686711124066" border="0" /></a>As I told you all last week, Ruby has been matched with her forever family and they will be picking her up on May 24th! I sent an email to the LWB Medical Coordinator and received an update on little Margaret this morning. She is so precious!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's what her March report said:<br /><div style="text-align: left; font-family: arial;">Margaret seems to be doing quite well and has recovered nicely from<br />her surgery! We have been told that she is able to roll over and sit up on her<br />own now. She has a hearty appetite and is a good sleeper. Margaret still sleeps<br />on her tummy because of the surgery, though.<br />Your generosity has made such a difference to Margaret! Thank you so much!<br /></div>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-21837334674632653052010-02-22T14:05:00.000-06:002010-02-22T14:06:23.111-06:00Quiet Miracles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S4LbRf-X3AI/AAAAAAAAAww/f83u2DmvXUw/s1600-h/Photo+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 252px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S4LbRf-X3AI/AAAAAAAAAww/f83u2DmvXUw/s320/Photo+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441152393504349186" border="0" /></a>I don't talk much about XiaoXian and the condition it was in before LWB showed up. For starters, I wasn't there and I don't know the whole story - I just get bits and pieces from the internet. And also - this story about XiaoXian isn't really <span style="font-style: italic;">my </span>story to tell at all, it belongs to Maggie Mao and the rest of the kids who are from there.<br /><br />I am going to share with you a part of it now, because it helps illustrate my point - <span style="font-style: italic;">foster care is a quiet miracle</span>.<br /><br />For the background story, I'm going to just cut and paste a big portion of the <a href="http://lwbstories.com/?p=149">LWB blog</a> here:<br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">"One of our facilitators had visited this rural orphanage, which is on the border of the Henan and Anhui provinces, and he immediately contacted us to see if we could help. This orphanage’s well had basically run dry, and so the only water they could use was muddy, and unfortunately because of this, many of the babies had fallen ill. They also did not have any air conditioners, even though the temperatures were very hot, and they had old wooden cribs that were unsafe. The orphanage’s small kitchen area did not have a refrigerator to keep food cool, and they did not have a sterilizer for baby bottles. Also, their washer and dryer no longer worked, so the aunties had to clean diapers and then drape them over a coal stove to dry.<br />Our facilitator told us that the staff was SO very kind, and that the children were receiving love, but this rural town was very poor and so there just weren’t enough funds to meet all of the orphanage’s needs."</blockquote>In other words, XiaoXian was in really tough shape. LWB went straight to work; getting donations, acquiring appliances and safe cribs, getting medical care for the kids, and digging a new well. LWB could have stopped there, a lot of organizations would have. But LWB isn't like others, they think bigger and when they thought about those XiaoXian kids, they knew that air conditioners are great - but a Mom and Dad are better. LWB gathered together the funds to place 20+ kids into foster care. No small feat, when the initial costs of placing one child into a foster home can approach $250.<br /><br />I have seen with my own eyes what foster care does for these kids. Having a Mom and Dad, living in a real house with brothers and sisters, playing outside, helping to fix dinner, meeting the neighbors. We take so much of this for granted, and some kids don't know these things until they are well into their toddler years or older. Foster care takes "institutionalized" kids and turns them into "plain old kids". It gives these kids a chance at a real childhood.<br /><br />Foster care is not flashy, it's not a heart or cleft surgery with quick results. <span style="font-style: italic;">Foster care is a quiet miracle</span>.<br /><br />I wish I could tell you that XiaoXian was a "one-off", that orphanages in China are all well funded and supplied. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, the orphanage directors and nannies are long on love and short on resources. It breaks my heart to know that there are more orphanages out there just like XiaoXian that we are unable to help because we don't have the money.<br /><br />A generous sponsor has come forward and agreed to match all donations to foster care up to $36,000 given between February 15 and March 15th. Let's not waste this chance to perform more quiet miracles in China. <a href="https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/donate.cfm?child_id=0&category=119">Please donate any amount to LWB's foster care fund by March 15th.</a><br /><br />Thank you for taking the time to read this and for supporting our cause.<br />Mary<br />XiaoXian Foster Care Assistant Coordinator<br /><br />**the picture at the top is of Maggie Mao before foster care - here's her after:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S4LdUecHBRI/AAAAAAAAAw4/jxQrPungKeI/s1600-h/Photo+of+Maya+Nov.+2006-4+IMGP2097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/S4LdUecHBRI/AAAAAAAAAw4/jxQrPungKeI/s320/Photo+of+Maya+Nov.+2006-4+IMGP2097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441154643655066898" border="0" /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-69018585903917922752009-11-24T17:35:00.005-06:002010-01-24T09:48:14.307-06:00An update on our LWB babies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Swxt0CyULEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/etvn73i8BmM/s1600/200911+Ruby.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Swxt0CyULEI/AAAAAAAAAuo/etvn73i8BmM/s320/200911+Ruby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407817993433656386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:85%;" >**Our Teratoma Yahoo group is not allowing me to post photos. Here are the updates on the two babies with teratomas that you so generously sponsored!**<span style=";color:black;" ><br /><br />Ruby is currently in foster care and is doing very well. She is a very good eater. She will be undergoing some exams soon to make sure she does not have cancer (this is a regular exam for teratoma babies). Thank you so much for making a difference in Ruby's life!”<br /><br />Also a quick update on baby Margaret, she is in Shanghai and will have her teratoma removed tomorrow! </span></span><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;" ><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:85%;" >I have been told "She is a quiet little girl and smiles a lot. Her surgery date is set for tomorrow. Please keep Margaret in your thoughts as she undergoes surgery. Thank you so much for your support!"<br /></span> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></span>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-21161746570044959112009-09-30T16:35:00.003-05:002009-09-30T17:02:58.334-05:00ShatteredMy heart shattered into a million pieces yesterday.<br /><br />I found Maggie's "finding ad" that the orphanage placed in the newspaper. And right there next to her, was our sponsored foster kid. Among all the newborns was this toddler, a kid with special needs who was loved by a family for 17 months before they were unable to care for her anymore.<br />17 months.<br /><br />Shattered.<br /><br />How do you heal up your heart that breaks every time it sees a sick kid or an orphan? How do you patch up the cracks when you find out the history and pain of the little ones you love?<br /><br />I decided that there's only one thing I can do. I have to give those little pieces of my heart away. Give my heart back to the kids.<br /><br />As I've been looking for my purpose in life, <a href="https://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/index.cfm">Love Without Boundaries</a> has been popping up here and there. We support them, and sponsor our foster kid, and retweet cute pictures on Twitter, and hit up my Facebook friends for cash, but it never occurred to me that LWB could help me give my "heart pieces" away in a more true and meaningful way. A few weeks ago, I applied for a volunteer position with LWB, and yesterday afternoon brought some great news.<br /><br />I am now the LWB Foster Care Assistant for XiaoXian, and my heart feels better today.Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-86667235397965209232009-05-11T08:49:00.009-05:002009-10-29T09:55:22.420-05:00I Belong To You<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg0xDMf6iI/AAAAAAAAAjE/FVHC_GuVM_M/s1600-h/IMG_1012a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 143px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg0xDMf6iI/AAAAAAAAAjE/FVHC_GuVM_M/s320/IMG_1012a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334571775896316450" border="0" /></a>When you were <a href="http://www.waitingformaggie.com/2009/01/today-is-day-we-officially-stopped.html">placed in my arms</a> on that grey January day <a href="http://www.waitingformaggie.com/2007/01/shes-here.html">two years ago</a>, I finally became what I always wanted to be - a mommy.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg1CUXSRFI/AAAAAAAAAjM/rEhZXg0VhJI/s1600-h/1st+Pic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 138px; height: 208px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg1CUXSRFI/AAAAAAAAAjM/rEhZXg0VhJI/s320/1st+Pic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334572072562738258" border="0" /></a>I knew from the <a href="http://childrenshomeadopt.org/Waiting_for_Maggie.html">first moment I saw your face</a> on the computer 6 months earlier that you were meant to be mine, and that I was yours. The stars lined up, it was my fate, God led me to you - it doesn't matter how you phrase it, we were meant to be together. You fit perfectly into our lives and made us into a family.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />On Mother's Day, I also have to remember that you had mothers before me, who loved you and cared for you just as much as I do. Your first mother, who loved you more than anything - but had to give you a chance at life and the surgery you so desperately needed. The a-yi's at the orphanage who took you in, fed you and made you healthy enough to go to the hospital, where another group of mothers nursed you back to health. The mothers at Love Without Boundaries who <a href="http://lwbstories.com/?p=149">saw a need at your orphanage</a> and started a Foster Care program. And then finally, your <a href="http://www.waitingformaggie.com/2009/01/what-can-i-say.html">foster mother</a> - who took you into her home and loved and cared for you until I came for you.<br /><br />I am honored to be the last in this long line of mothers, your forever mother.<br /><br />Know this little one, you are mine and I am yours.<br />I belong to you.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg2lwa75kI/AAAAAAAAAjU/EtXMa_ktm-o/s1600-h/maomao+and+momma.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 185px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/Sgg2lwa75kI/AAAAAAAAAjU/EtXMa_ktm-o/s320/maomao+and+momma.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334573780901291586" border="0" /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-25171348952987181422009-05-07T15:04:00.003-05:002009-05-07T15:07:41.187-05:00My Cute New Laptop<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SgM_Zqc9s0I/AAAAAAAAAi8/9aJV_j7RieU/s1600-h/New+Laptop+Pic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SgM_Zqc9s0I/AAAAAAAAAi8/9aJV_j7RieU/s320/New+Laptop+Pic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333176093861851970" border="0" /></a><br />Here's a pic of my new Mini 10. Isn't she a little cutie? The old Nokia that I used to use and a standard size laptop (and a cute kid) are also in the picture.Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-50508017792665044042009-05-07T11:07:00.002-05:002009-05-07T11:09:29.830-05:00Mother's Day Gift 2009<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SgMHog9IarI/AAAAAAAAAis/EfjG4VBfw84/s1600-h/Moms+Day+Gift+2009001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SgMHog9IarI/AAAAAAAAAis/EfjG4VBfw84/s200/Moms+Day+Gift+2009001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333114776359299762" border="0" /></a><br />This was in Maggie's backpack today. It's so sweet, brought a tear, it did. And look - she can sign her own name!Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-46034204549059868172009-04-28T18:34:00.002-05:002009-04-28T18:37:57.901-05:00New Pics of Maggie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTF4EffgI/AAAAAAAAAic/FSwrnnD00XQ/s1600-h/20090422+Word+Girl+Gets+Stuck.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTF4EffgI/AAAAAAAAAic/FSwrnnD00XQ/s200/20090422+Word+Girl+Gets+Stuck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329890413176126978" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTGGMaZRI/AAAAAAAAAik/ayR6k-0RkMY/s1600-h/20090428+Chicken+NomNomNom.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTGGMaZRI/AAAAAAAAAik/ayR6k-0RkMY/s200/20090428+Chicken+NomNomNom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329890416967443730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTF1jtnCI/AAAAAAAAAiU/FaLv1nZkZJM/s1600-h/20090426+Thanks+Angie.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SfeTF1jtnCI/AAAAAAAAAiU/FaLv1nZkZJM/s200/20090426+Thanks+Angie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329890412501769250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's what we've been up to this April. I'm also posting these on Facebook, but since some of you won't get with the program (Mom), I will also post them here.<br /><br />We've been dancing and eating and getting spoiled by Angie!Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-86223495118152255302009-04-28T14:15:00.005-05:002013-03-30T10:46:17.531-05:00Extra Packing List for China - Things to ConsiderAnother post for my yahoo group. This is a list I made for the aforementioned friend who traveled last summer.<br />
<br />
Consider adding some of these items to your already loooooooooooong list! Then take out half of the clothes you packed (see below) to make room - I am not kidding.<br />
This is a toddler oriented list, it will not work for everyone. This is not an entire packing list (are you nuts?) just some highlights about what worked for us.<br />
<ul>
<li>Sippy cups (<span style="font-weight: bold;">2</span>) (just in case the only sippy you have falls into a drainage ditch and your travel partner has to go retrieve it - thanks Craig!)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Baby bottle (1 just in case)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ramen (2) You can get 4 meals out of 2 packages of Ramen & buy more there, we figured that if Maggie had Ramen every day for the short time we were there, it wouldn't kill her. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pampers Pocket Bibsters (love these! they sell them at Walgreen's)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Big bag of Cheerios (leave the actual box at home)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Plastic deodorizer bags for throwing away stinky diapers (must have!)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Toys: One touch and feel board book, 1 gallon size bag of toys - no more are needed (we brought Fisher Price Little People and cars), soft snuggly baby blanket, one stuffed animal. That's it - don't go overboard on toys, and DO NOT buy toys in China - we had a battery operated keyboard melt. Melt! Fire Hazard much?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Plastic bowl (2) (big enough for an adult to eat soup or oatmeal out of too)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Travel/throw away baby forks and spoons, and big ones for Mom and Dad too</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>California Baby Super Sensitive body lotion.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo/Body Wash and Conditioner.</li>
<li>Nail clipper! </li>
<li>Meds for every ailment you can think of. Take out of box, flatten the box and put the meds and the flat box in a ziploc to save room. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Clothes in the size you'll think your kid should be in and clothes one size smaller. Make sure all pants have an adjustable waist &/or belt loops, consider buying a belt here before you leave and make more holes in it to make it smaller.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Carter's tight-fitting pj's can double as long-johns if it's cool outside.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=427760&cmSource=Search&PIPELINE_SESSION_ID=ee2b1b7f7f0000016babd8c670639b70">Small fold-up potty seat</a> (see previous post about potty training) edited to add: The front desk of your hotel may have a kid size chamber pot style potty chair, or you can buy one at Walmart.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pull-ups in addition to diapers</li>
</ul>
<ul style="font-weight: bold;">
<li>Constipation Medicine for baby (very important)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Pepto Bismol for the grown-ups (and lots and lots of Tums) Bonus: Sell these to your travel mates who forgot tummy medicine! Help pay for your trip!</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Many Travel Packs of Puffs Plus - Chinese kleenex is scratchy (can double as t.p.!)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Sun Hat and <a href="http://www.californiababy.com/alive-features-no-fragrance-spf-30-sunblock-stick-half-oz1.html">Sun Block</a> (Sunblock with zinc oxide does not irritate sensitive skin)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ergo Sport for carrying a distressed toddler who can't be put down - they're good for up to 44 pounds! </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Starbucks VIA coffee (regular and decaf) and French Vanilla Coffeemate.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Ziploc bags of all sizes - Everything we packed went into a ziploc organized by type to keep things organized (Kitchen items, bathroom items, baby clothes, toys, electronics adapters, etc)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Small bottle of dish washing liquid and a dishtowel.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Crayons, color book and stickers for the flight home (we did not pull these out until the Tokyo - Portland flight so it was new and interesting)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Bring home Chinese money as souvenirs for nieces and nephews (easy to get, small and cheap!)</li>
</ul>
<br />
**start a blog (or caringbridge site), bring a laptop and update the site every day with a post and some pictures, that way you don't have to call or email everybody** If you do want to call home, have your guide arrange to get a phone card for you, some phone cards bought in Beijing will not work in other provinces. Be aware of this and don't trust the guy at the airport to tell you the truth.<br />
**download a VPN before you leave. This will get you around the Great Firewall of China.<br />
<br />
Things to buy there:<br />
<ul>
<li>More ramen</li>
<li>Peach juice (Maggie would not drink any other juice for months)</li>
<li>Snacks</li>
<li>Water. Buy a 12 pack of bottled water your first day. You will need it for cooking, drinking and brushing your teeth. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Things we brought but never used:<br />
<ul>
<li>DVD's for Maggie (she had no interest in TV whatsoever)</li>
<li>Travel pillow</li>
<li>If/when we do it again, we are not going to bring the video camera, we are going to take movies with our small Canon Digital Elph. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Things they will provide for you:<br />
<ul>
<li>Bottled water is usually provided, or you can buy it at the gift shop or grocery store. There will be an electric kettle and tea in your hotel room. Bring food that you can make with hot water (ramen, soup, oatmeal, etc.). If they do provide bottled water, take it and hide it somewhere so the maid brings you more water the next morning!</li>
<li>There should also be a fridge in your room, ask your guide to bring you to the grocery store and fill up the fridge with juice and snacks. </li>
</ul>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Where will you find room for all this stuff?</span><br />
Only pack enough clothes to get you halfway through your trip and have the hotel do your laundry at the midpoint. It's worth the money - just do it. For an 11 day trip - bring 6 days of clothes. Yes hotel laundry will set you back $50, but you're packing half as much. Totally worth it. Only pack one set of nice clothes, nobody cares if you wear the same outfit to pick up your child, and then the next day for the adoption and then later at the US Consulate. Nobody will notice, and I won't tell. Also - wear capris instead of shorts and bring something to cover your arms/shoulders if you go to a temple.<br />
We packed everything into 2 backpacks for carry-ons and 2 - 25" upright suitcases. We then bought an extra suitcase in Guangzhou to bring home the extra stuff we accumulated while there. Backpacks are crucial for keeping your hands free to take care of baby or hold paperwork, etc. We also used one of the backpacks as a diaper bag when traveling around Hefei and Guangzhou.<br />
<br />
That's it. Just some extra stuff that I wish I knew before we left.<br />
Have a great trip!<br />
Any extra thoughts or ideas? Add a comment!Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-13428692889631361582009-04-28T13:00:00.003-05:002009-04-28T13:43:37.451-05:00Observations on Adopting a Toddler from China<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This post is for my yahoo group CHSFS China WIC. Hi all!</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is just cut and pasted from an email that I sent to a friend who adopted a toddler from China last summer. Take from it what you will, as they say - YMMV (your mileage may vary). I will try to find my packing list that I made up for her too, stay tuned for that post. </span></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> <w:word11kerningpairs/> <w:cachedcolbalance/> </w:Compatibility> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin 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mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">.............................<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">Here's a list of observations, excuse the spelling, grammar, fragments, run-on sentences and what-not:</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Sleeping</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: Slept pretty good and on schedule (8 pm to 7 am with a</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">nap from 1 to 3). Cried in her sleep occasionally but it didn't wake her. We spend many nights in China with her crying and me crying too while I rubbed her back and talked her through it. She did not want to spend one extra second in bed and would stand up to be taken out while still 99% asleep. It took months for her to lose this behavior. To this day she has problems sleeping if she has on overstimulating day. She does well on a schedule that is predictable.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Eating</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: Only ate rice, noodles, eggs & peach juice while in China. Ate scrambled eggs and diced peaches for breakfast every day for at least 2 months after we brought her home. Would not touch bread, pancakes, waffles, cereal or any "normal" breakfast food. Does not like green food. Does not like melon. Does not like pb&j sandwiches. Likes savory food - bacon, sausage, pepperoni pizza. Loves ramen, wants to eat it every day. Took her months to like mac & cheese. Now her favorite foods all have noodles as a theme - mac & cheese, ramen, spaghetti, ravioli, chicken noodle soup.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">She is lactose intolerant and things get "explosive" if she eats yogurt, and only mildly unpleasant if she drinks milk. [updated to add: after 2 years she can now drink milk and eat all dairy] She loves Very Vanilla Soymilk by Silk. I still cook with milk and cheese, she just doesn't sit down and eat or drink a "pure" milk product. It took much coaching to get her to eat little bites (we would tell her xiao chi - (pronounced sheow cheh) "little eat", it's bad Chinese - I know, but she understood what I meant). She was used to being fed and didn't like to eat with her hands. Still doesn't like to have food on her hands and likes a napkin close by for a mid-meal clean-up. If a grain of rice or a noodle fell out of her bowl, she would pick it up and put it back in - she would not waste one bit of food.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">When potty training - it took her a long time to be able to leave her meal at the table to run and go xu-xu. More than a few times, she ate while sitting in a puddle (unbeknownst to us), because she didn't want to leave her food. I remember telling her "your food will be here, don't worry, no one will eat it when you're gone". Man, that took a lot of convincing.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">We were told that she took a bottle at the orphanage - and went on a mad dash to shop for a bottle, formula and rice cereal to put in the formula. She never drank out of the bottle, hated the formula and was more than content to drink peach juice from a sippy cup and eat noodles. My motto in China was "let's get through today, we'll worry about nutrition when we get home". Ramen and peach juice for every meal? Sure! Please stop crying at mommy.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Potty Training</span>: She was potty trained when we picked her up (meaning that if we held her over the toilet and told her to xu-xu she would). She was deathly afraid of the hotel toilet and I would have to kneel in front of her and bear-hug her to get her to go potty. This was not going to work, I wish I had brought a little fold up potty insert for the toilet. We ended up putting her in diapers and she was not happy! She would scream her head off when she wet herself - like on the plane from Hefei to Guangzhou - sorry fellow travelers! We ended up potty training her at home that summer, but I wish we would have tried harder with the potty while in China.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Behaviors</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: Would bang her head or kick the side of her bed when she she was asleep. I would rub her back and talk her through it. This tapered off pretty quickly after we came home, but continued when she was sick or upset. (or if she was wound up from a crazy day)</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">Has nightmares that make her scream and cry in her sleep. We have to sit her up and wake her up to get her out of it. This only happens now on days that she's overstimulated or sick. [another update: after 2 years, this has totally gone away]<br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Health</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: We had blood tests done to check the level of immunity she had from her immunizations. They had to draw the blood anyway for the HIV and Hepatitis tests - so might as well do a few more. (</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >I would rather pay for more tests than over-vaccinate a child</span><span style="font-size:100%;">.) We also did stool samples and discovered that she had Giardia. She was the same size in February as they reported to us in August, so who knows how long she had this bug. </span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br />And one last thing about health, her lungs are in pretty tough shape. She hasn't been officially diagnosed with asthma yet, but we have had many problems with her lungs and keeping her oxygenated when she has a cold. She has an inhaled steroid (Flovent) that we give her at the first sniffle to try to ward off any asthma attacks. If the Flovent doesn't keep her healthy, we give her albuterol through a nebulizer to improve her air flow. I don't know how much of her breathing problems are genetic, and how much are related to the fact that her clothing reeked of fuel oil when we picked her up. The air quality in her home province (Anhui) was dismal - as bad as Beijing.</span></span><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Speaking of size</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: She was much smaller than we expected her be (and skinny) - I don't know if this was because of the Giardia or if her height and weight numbers were exagerrated in August to make her appear healthier on her referral paperwork. She was only 33" tall and weighed 22 pounds when we picked her up (she was just shy of her 2nd birthday). I expected a size 2T kid, and she was an 18-24 month kid.</span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-size:100%;">My nephew Sam (age 6) met us at the airport and was rubbing her back - he said "why is she so bumpy?", he'd never met a kid with vertebra sticking out of their back before.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Physical Strength/Abilities</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: She could walk, but at the level of a kid who doesn't quite have the hang of it yet. She was doing what we affectionately call the "chimp walk", where she would hold her arms up like a monkey for balance. She grew out of this very quickly, I think she just needed more practice being up and about. Also her muscles were very weak. She couldn't sit herself up using just her stomach muscles, she would roll over and use her arms to help herself up. She had no concept as to how to pull herself up onto furniture or how to climb the stairs.<br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Baths</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: Uncomfortable in the water. Does not like water in her face at all - would scream so loud I had to tell the neighbors "don't mind us - kid doesn't like to have her hair washed!" It took 4-5 months to get her comfortable enough in the water to lay back in the tub to rinse the shampoo out, until then we just did the best we could. (btw - she's fine now)</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Toys</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: Would hide toys under her leg when she was playing on the floor or in the tub. She would also gather all of her tub toys into her lap and even sit on some to keep them away from...I don't know who. She also had no interest in the TV (except the Chinese Price is Right), and didn't want to watch any of the videos we brought for her.<br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Miscellaneous</span><span style="font-size:100%;">: This just popped into my head - the skin on her legs was like sandpaper (it was the middle of winter when we were there) so I would massage her with Aveeno cream every night before bed. She still craves this kind of close contact - a back rub, a belly rub, a foot rub...etc. Also, her toenails and fingernails were in tough shape. We gave her a mani-pedi her first night. Her toenails were scary long! She has very sensitive skin and we now only use California Baby products. The Johnson and Johnson stuff made her break out in an awful rash.<br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">And one last thing - all of the turmoil about leaving the orphanage and moving in with us at the hotel resulted in no poop for 3 days! She was a miserable little thing, she would cry and cry. I would hold her and walk her and her little legs would try to walk up my stomach, she was so uncomfortable. I would have paid $100 for some children's laxative drops.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">If I think of more, I will send you another email. This should be enough information to go on for now!</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">Take care,</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mary</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">p.s. Chinese diapers are horrible and we couldn't find Pampers until we got to Guangzhou. Bring enough US diapers/pullups to last until Guangzhou if you can fit them in your suitcase.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">...............................</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">One final note - no matter how bad it gets, remember that this is a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy yourself. I wish we had taken more time to just relax and soak it all in.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-size:100%;">Also - take what the orphanage director tells you about your child's eating/sleeping habits with a grain of salt. We found out later that our daughter was in foster care before she came to us, the orphanage had not had her in their care for months and that was probably why there was a discrepancy in what the director told us about what she would eat (a bottle) and what she actually wanted (real food!). I do not in any way want to imply that the director was incompetent or being deceitful - please don't take it that way. She just had outdated information.<br /></span></p>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-76812236541800661062009-03-26T09:57:00.005-05:002009-03-26T10:20:46.400-05:00I've Been Busy!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5x6JL_I/AAAAAAAAAhI/AnFACG47_6k/s1600-h/Water+Bottle+Holder+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5x6JL_I/AAAAAAAAAhI/AnFACG47_6k/s200/Water+Bottle+Holder+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317511903458177010" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5_hG45I/AAAAAAAAAhA/GLC9VU9PHIo/s1600-h/Water+Bottle+Holder+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5_hG45I/AAAAAAAAAhA/GLC9VU9PHIo/s200/Water+Bottle+Holder+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317511907111265170" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5nPkEYI/AAAAAAAAAg4/oub9mjbNrtc/s1600-h/Josies+Cape+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY5nPkEYI/AAAAAAAAAg4/oub9mjbNrtc/s200/Josies+Cape+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317511900595229058" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY45k4IhI/AAAAAAAAAgw/O9jmnEzeuvY/s1600-h/Josies+Cape+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScuY45k4IhI/AAAAAAAAAgw/O9jmnEzeuvY/s200/Josies+Cape+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317511888336593426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sorry for the lack of updates here. I've been doing some sewing and decorating and facebooking. That's a time killer right there!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:78%;" >You can find me on FB by searching for me using my first name, maiden name and/or married name. (I don't have our last name attached to this blog, so I'm not typing it out)</span><br /><br />I've posted pics of what I've been sewing. I made a water bottle holder for Maggie's Klean Kanteen. It's insulated and has an adjustable strap, It's so cute I'm going to make one for myself too! I've also made a cape for Josie's 3rd birthday this weekend. (it's a surprise, don't tell!) She's got a princess thing going on, so this will do her nicely. I have also made Maggie a Word Girl cape and hat, she's adorable in it - if I must say so myself.<br /><br />The other thing I finally took care of this week was to get pictures up on our huge blank living room wall. We got rid of our wall-size entertainment center over a year ago, and I've been staring at this blank wall since then, trying to think of something cool to put up there. I really wanted a huge stretched canvas print of one of our photos of the Great Wall, but I didn't want to spend $400. I finally decided on some prints of interesting architectural details from our China trip. I converted them to sepia tone, and then printed them out on our home printer. The frames are from Ikea for $13 each. I could have bought cheaper frames, but these are nice and chunky and match the woodwork perfectly.<br /><br />In case anyone cares, from left to right top then bottom they are: Chang School roof detail, Guangzhou; Tower of the Fragrance of the Buddha at the Summer Palace, Beijing; Forbidden City roof detail, Beijing; Forbidden City door detail; Summer Palace courtyard; and Summer Palace walkway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScubU7lBSgI/AAAAAAAAAhY/f_U7J8T7k9Y/s1600-h/New+Pictures+Close+Up.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScubU7lBSgI/AAAAAAAAAhY/f_U7J8T7k9Y/s200/New+Pictures+Close+Up.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317514568933657090" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScubU20os8I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/n0p2DtJn97Y/s1600-h/New+Pictures.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 177px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/ScubU20os8I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/n0p2DtJn97Y/s200/New+Pictures.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317514567656977346" border="0" /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-84305052887375661632009-02-25T13:23:00.006-06:002009-02-25T13:53:26.517-06:00Look How Big I Am!<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1jeybUI/AAAAAAAAAf4/agDQD55AOPM/s1600-h/20090215+Birthday+Princesses.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1jeybUI/AAAAAAAAAf4/agDQD55AOPM/s320/20090215+Birthday+Princesses.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306824577843883330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1clxrmI/AAAAAAAAAfw/mYvjRJRNb_I/s1600-h/February+2007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 144px; height: 215px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1clxrmI/AAAAAAAAAfw/mYvjRJRNb_I/s320/February+2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306824575994146402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1XTkIQI/AAAAAAAAAfo/I9Sj840R7dE/s1600-h/February+2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 143px; height: 215px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWg1XTkIQI/AAAAAAAAAfo/I9Sj840R7dE/s320/February+2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306824574575583490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>Miss Maggie had her 4 year checkup this morning - she is doing great! And she's so big! She is now 40 inches tall and 32 pounds!<br /><br />She's as big as the other 4 year olds if she stands on her toes!<br /><br />Last year (pink qi pao picture) she was 37 inches tall and 28 pounds, and in 2007 (tinkerbell picture) she was only 33 inches tall and 22 pounds.<br /><br />So - in 2 years we have put 7 inches and 10 pounds on this kid! She's in the 15th percentile! W00T!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaWdyEZ9RhI/AAAAAAAAAfQ/8Og3kA9djXc/s1600-h/20090215+Birthday+Princesses.JPG"><br /></a>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-74456997240058588412009-02-25T09:01:00.004-06:002009-02-25T13:14:55.175-06:00Love's Journey 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaVfRr5V_EI/AAAAAAAAAfI/NF8i3AvqyEQ/s1600-h/Loves+Journey+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 345px; height: 259px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaVfRr5V_EI/AAAAAAAAAfI/NF8i3AvqyEQ/s400/Loves+Journey+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306752493371653186" border="0" /></a>Love Without Boundaries has put their <a href="http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/lwbshop/Detail?no=47">Love's Journey 2</a> book on clearance for only $25. We bought this book last fall and I absolutely love going through the pictures and reading the adoption stories. I also think it's good for Maggie to see pictures of other little girls and boys from China living with their American families. It's tough sometimes to be different, and this book is full of little kids with families just like hers.<br />Anyway - great book, great cause. All proceeds benefit LWB.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(side note: shipping to MN is $7.10, other destinations may vary)<br />Updated to add: This is a large coffee-table size book. it is about 9" x 12" and is 280 pages long.<br /></span>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-41613325175519175882009-02-23T12:13:00.003-06:002009-02-23T12:15:11.156-06:00Just Posting a Pic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaLnVAo4qPI/AAAAAAAAAe4/BpPKmI36wKI/s1600-h/lwb+blog+picture.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 140px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SaLnVAo4qPI/AAAAAAAAAe4/BpPKmI36wKI/s400/lwb+blog+picture.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306057659130620146" border="0" /></a><br />I want this picture over on my sidebar, so I'm uploading it here first. I want to put a link to the <a href="http://www.lwbblog.com">Love Without Boundaries blog</a> permanently on this site. I go over there a couple times a week to check up on the babies. It reminds me to hug mine a little tighter.Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-3230143753385090672009-02-20T17:27:00.004-06:002009-02-25T13:54:58.728-06:00The Strep TestLast Friday, Maggie woke up from her nap at Grandma's house with a puffed up right eye, welts forming on her tummy and general feelings of yuckiness. Earlier that day, she had the fever that was being passed around Grandma's house. So, a visit to Dakota Peds was arranged, and it was determined that she needed a strep test. So, I held her tight while the nurse stuck Q-tips down her throat and then I shared a few tears with Maggie. Poor thing. Well, the rapid strep came back negative, but her culture the next day came back positive. Crap. How do you explain to a kid that she's going to miss ice-skating lessons (the most coolest hour of her entire week)?<br /><br />Here goes:<br />"Sweetie, do you remember when the nurse put the Q-tips in your throat to see what kind of sick you are? The Q-tips were going to tell us if you're just a little bit sick, or special sick where you have to skip skating and go on pink medicine? Well, this morning the Q-tip said that you're special sick, so you can't go to skating today. I'm really sorry about that honey."<br /><br /><br />Her response?<br />"Mommy, Q-tips don't talk!"<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Next time I'm going straight to how they culture </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptococcus_pyogenes">streptococcus pyogenes</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> in the lab. She's obviously too smart for the "talking Q-tip".</span></span>Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5771968352096971951.post-523973548229865732009-02-18T10:36:00.001-06:002009-02-18T10:37:52.741-06:00Biding Her Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SZw5S4T7lUI/AAAAAAAAAdY/mBgspjf4grg/s1600-h/20090217+Lord+Help+Me.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0tQOR6_oi7s/SZw5S4T7lUI/AAAAAAAAAdY/mBgspjf4grg/s400/20090217+Lord+Help+Me.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304177457652012354" border="0" /></a><br />At what point does the cat just kill us all in our sleep?Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17253232345151869716noreply@blogger.com0