The Journey To Our Daughter

Our Asian Prince and Princess In Their Silks

2013-02-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

Last week as we pulled the silks out for our Chinese New Year celebrations I did a little photo shoot of Max and Ellie. I love how their little personalities came out as I let them play

Even though fortune cookies are no where to be found in China I thought they would be a good prop to keep Max occupied. He was so cute trying to get them with his chopsticks.

I love how his little feet are crossed and those fingers are spread as he is concentrating on the task at hand.

He finally gave in and used his fingers and began to line them up. I do believe he had his fair share of fortune cookies. It was a good thing mom was distracted behind the lens.

Max also loves his oranges!

Those big brown eyes are a window to this little boy's soul. They speak volumes to the passion and love he has for life.

His smile is a permanent fixture on his little face. He lives life big and full of joy! As someone once asked "is every day the best day of his life?"

That sparkle in his eyes shows that little mischievous side of him too.

This is probably my favorite picture of these two. It actually may be my only picture of these two this close together. Two precious little blessings born an ocean away and yet hand picked to be brother and sister. Handpicked by God to journey through life together. I can't wait to see how their relationship unfolds in the years to come.

Miss Ellie had fun grabbing those cookies and throwing them to side. It is amazing the strength she has gained and the fine motor development that has taken place in such a short time.

There were lots of smiles as she discovered and explored.

She also loved banging the chopsticks together to make some noise!

I was shocked as Ellie brought the orange to her little mouth. Ellie had no idea how to use those little fingers and hands and as she learned to use them nothing would go to her mouth. It is so crazy because I thoughts kids were just born with that instinct. It is another sad reminder of what happens to natural progression and development of our sweet little ones that are institutionalized. We continue to celebrate every new victory and every new milestone we hit. There seems to be an awful lot of them lately.

Ellie continues to use her little hands and feet to explore the world around her. I love this picture of her little foot in the orange bowl. Her feet often follow her little hands as she discovers new things. At times it seems as though her feet are two extra hands.

Those lost, sad brown eyes that we met on November 5, 2013 have been replaced with a sparkle and a new depth. An amazing transformation ... beauty from ashes.

In time our little princess decided she was done exploring, done smiling, done being reset ... she was done!

Happy Chinese New Year

2013-02-27T19:58:00.003-08:00

When Eric and I traveled across the world to bring two of our precious little ones home not only did we fall in love with them but we fell in love with their birth country. A country that is rich in its heritage and culture. A country that will always hold a special place in our heart.

While Max and Ellie will grow up Chinese Americans and lose so much of their culture we wanted to find ways to celebrate and honor their culture and heritage in our home. One of the ways we want to do that is by celebrating the Chinese New Year. The big kids love the tradition we started before Max came home. We decorate the table, make Chinese food and the kids love getting red envelopes.

In China the Chinese New Year lasts 15 days and it is a huge celebration. This year it started on February 10th and ended on February 25. Houses are cleaned from top to bottom, decorations are hung, new outfits are bought, families gather, food is made and many traditions are carried out.

This year we felt blessed to have Ellie around out table as we celebrated this year.

The big kids love sharing the Chinese culture with their classmates. I had fun in their classrooms sharing with their classmates about the Chinese New Year.

Another highlight for our family is gathering with other families that have adopted or are in process to celebrate. This year some friends opened their home and we had a great time. It is always fun to connect and see how families have grown and changed. It is also amazing to see how little ones change and mature from year to year.

There is always yummy food and ....

The kids love playing with the other kids and it is always fun to connect with other adoptive parents and share experiences and gain insight in things we may be dealing with.

We had quite the gang this year. I actually have no idea where Max was during this picture. Where ever he was I am sure he was having fun.

28 Days of Hearts

2013-02-17T10:39:00.002-08:00

Today Ellie is featured at 28 Days of Hearts

Happy Heart Day

2013-02-14T23:19:00.000-08:00

A fellow heart mom put this special video together for Heart day of some amazing Asian Heart babies. Miss Ellie is in the video along with Max sharing about Ellie's broken heart!

Congenital heart defects are the top killer of newborn babies in China due to high incidence and inadequate treatment. It is estimated that there are 300,000 babies born each year with a Congenital Heart Defect. Due to their one child policy there are likely thousands more births that are not reported. Out of the 300,000 births, only about 70,000 of those babies will ever receive medical attention for their congenital heart defects due to low awareness, limited medical resources and financial reasons. Thousands more are born still or will die shortly after birth due to lack of medical attention. While a simple scan to diagnosis CHD would cost roughly 100RMB the cost of a surgery to repair their child's defect could cost them more then 10 years of their household income. Many families do not have the financial resources to afford such surgeries. Families often make the difficult decision to abandon their baby in hopes that the orphanage will find the baby and help repair that child's heart defects. Unfortunately, that is not the story for many children. They will often be taken to the orphanage and will be scanned to confirm the congenital heart defect, but many still will not receive their life saving surgeries. Many will continue on palliative and hospice care while at the orphanage. Some of these children will be deemed inoperable or terminal. Without immediate medical treatment for the heart defects the child's lungs will be severely and irreparably damaged. These children will then become "paper ready" in hopes that a family will come forward to care for these medically fragile children. Here are the faces of the survivors, who against all odds continue to fight and win the battle of living with a Congenital Heart Defect.

We continue to pray for those sweet little ones that wait, the ones that have no hope without a family!

Families Love .... Love Heals

2013-02-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that three months ago today we were standing in a hotel lobby in Nanchang, China waiting with anticipation to hold our daughter for the first time.

There are so many feelings and emotions that are stirred when I see this picture. The emotions and feelings that come flooding back of those memories when I held her tiny little body next to mine for the first time. The feeling of knowing the minute I held her she was our little girl, the one God handpicked for our family. The feeling of knowing she was very weak and her tiny body was fragile.

The last three months have been quite a journey for our little girl. She has walked through a lot in a short amount of time but it has been amazing to see this little girl fight, to see her transform before our eyes.

The last two weeks have been amazing to sit back and watch. The smiles and giggles are frequent these days. She is feeling secure and her little heart has been healed.

Her sisters and brothers love her to pieces and she has learned to trust them and open her little heart to them over time. She loves cuddle time with them.

They all love playing with her and often we have to set timers and make plans of who get face time with baby Ellie. Yes she is the little princess in our house.

In the last two weeks she has learned how to pat a cake, wave bye-bye, and play peek a boo!

She has a big fan club cheering her on and so when she does something new everyone claps. The smile on her face is priceless as she claps right along with them.

Her first word and favorite word is uh oh, she will repeat da da and ma ma. She also started saying boo and hi this week.

Her big brother loves to tickle her and as you can see she loves it and he gets those deep big belly laughs going.

She watches with a big grin in anticipation for her brothers hands to make their way to her time after time.

Ellie is on the move and is army crawling all over the place. It has been amazing to watch this little girl explore the world around her. She spent the first 13 months of her life laying in a crib. When we got her she would cry to our touch and was so sensory deprived.

Her little senses are seeking and exploring new things daily and it is pretty amazing to sit back and watch. Any new item or texture she come across she touches, scratches at and often turns her hand around and rubs it with the back of her hand. She often brings her feet to the object and lets her feet explore all these new things too.

The last couple days she has mastered going from laying to sitting on her own. I have found her sitting up in anticipation of me coming in to get her when she wakes up from her naps.

I know many of you saw the pictures of how traumatic her bath was for her in China. Again we realized how sensory deprived she was and she was not a fan of being naked or the water on her body. Baths were short lived with screaming and an arched stiff body. This didn't change a lot when we got home. She typically was in the bath long enough to quick wash her and she still would cry every time.

The very first time she didn't cry in the bath was 5:00 am the morning of her surgery. I am not sure if she was still half asleep or if her body finally decided the water wasn't too bad. She would still hold her hands straight out and not even attempt to touch the water.

Last week she decided to dip those hands in the water ....

the smiles and splashes quickly followed!

The other big area we have been slowly working on is her eating. We have met with a feeding team and had decided that she wasn't ready for therapy and was really getting good calories from a high calorie formula recipe we had her own. We had a goal of working to get those bottles in and getting some weight on her before surgery. It worked and she gained over 2 pounds before her surgery.

We have been daily trying to put new food and textures in front of her on her tray while we eat. She loves throwing cheerios and puffs on the floor but never attempted to put them in her mouth. She cries when she touches pudding, rice, potatoes, apple sauce or anything that sticks to her fingers. We keep introducing and keep trying.

Last week Miss Ellie decide she would open that little mouth of hers when I put a spoon to it instead of pursing her little lips and turning her head. Let me tell you there was a lot of cheering at the McDonald house the night as she ate some baby food. Max stood right by her and he thought it was fun to show her how it was done. One spoon for her one one for him. Even though she cried through it she kept opening her mouth for more.

By day two the tears were gone and the mouth was wide open ready to eat. Big strides lately for this little girl!

In a couple week when her surgery restrictions are up we will begin her therapies. I can only imagine the strides she will continue to make in months to come.

A friend commented about how she could see Miss Ellie was feeling secure and loved and has found her stride in our family, that she was in full bloom!

Yes this little girl is in full bloom and I know we will continued to see what a healthy little heart and a whole lot of love will do for out little girl!

February = Love, Hearts, Pink And ......

2013-02-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

When you think of February, you probably think of love, pink, red, hearts and Valentine's Day. It is also precisely why February is CHD Awareness Month. CHD stands for Congenital Heart Defect. Many families are affected by CHD and many little ones have some home from China with CHD. What a perfect month to bring awareness to one of the leading birth defects among little ones in the US and around the world.

This little girl has opened our eyes and our hearts to a whole new world, a heart world.

During our journey to Ellie and as we waited to see who God hand picked for our family God opened my eyes and heart to the sick little heart babies in China.

God hand picked this little girl with a broken little heart to be our daughter.

When all 14 pounds of our tiny little girl was placed in our arms we could feel her little heart racing against our own hearts. We had no idea how God would wreck our hearts in the months to come. How he would show us over and over he clearly had his hands all over our journey to our little girl. How he would teach us what it truly means to lay our daughter and her health in his hands.

We feel honored that God picked us to love this little girl, to walk the journey of healing her little heart and watching God restore her little body and spirit.

God has has taught us about the power of love.

We have met some amazing families on our journey of Ellie's heart. There is a group of women who want to share their families stories in hopes of bringing awareness to those little ones waiting in China, those with no HOPE waiting for a chance, a chance at life. Every day this month a child will be highlighted and their story will be shared. Some stories are heart wrenching, some complete miracles, some are still being written and others have seen God's healing hand on their child's heart. We will be sharing Ellie's story on the 17th. I can't wait to see what God has in store for the "28 Days of Hearts". Head on over to the blog and may your heart be touched by the stories that God has written, stories of his precious heart children of China.

Click here to head on over the the "28 Days of Hearts" blog!

PS. So many of you have emailed or messaged me checking in on us and letting us know you are still praying for Ellie's body and heart. We are so grateful for all the prayers and encouragement on this journey. Some of you have expressed concern since the blog hasn't been updated so I wanted you to know Ellie is doing great. Life has been busy and my computer crashed and was down a week and I finally feel like I am catching up. So soon I will share how Miss Ellie is blossoming after surgery. I can't wait for you to see! Your prayers have been felt and God has answered! God is healing her little body and spirit in an amazing way!

Home Sweet Home

2013-01-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

Miss Ellie turned a corner on Wednesday at noon when they pulled her arterial line and catheter. She crashed and slept the whole afternoon and evening. It also meant when night time came she decided it was time to be awake.

Thursday morning they came to take out Ellie's pacing wires and her chest tube.

It was not fun watching our sweet girl go through having all these lines come out and at the same time we know it only meant we were that much closer to being line free and going home.

The minute that chest tube was out her little feet were in the air for about 30 minutes straight. The nurses couldn't believe the flexibility of our little girl. She had started to redeem herself among the doctors and nurses on the 5th floor. She had turned from the "Agitated Empress" into the "Sweet Little Princess." One of the doctors came by and said he couldn't believe she had settled in. He had thought they were going to have their hands full the whole time with our spicy little princess.

On Thursday Ellie had a special visitor, Aunty Di. Diana and I met through our blogs and followed each other to China a couple times and home again. Our families had the privilege to meet this summer. Diana introduced me to sweet Ivy Joy, and Ivy opened my heart to the heart babies in China. She has been a huge support on our journey to Ellie and I couldn't wait for her to meet our sweet girl in person.

I love the way Ellie is looking at Diana here, pure sweetness! Diana and I have also been in a couple photography classes together. She took these sweet pictures of Ellie.

Ellie had fun playing with some Hello Kitty sticker's Emme, Diana's daughter picked out for "Baby Ellie!"

Seriously is she not the sweetest little thing... silly faces and all!

We were sad to see Diana go but so thankful she made the trip to meet our sweet girl!

In the afternoon Ellie sat up for the first time since surgery. She was a little shaky but had fun playing with her toys. We still didn't get even a crack of a smile though.

Nurse Amy was back and very excited to see how much better her little "Ellie belly" was doing. We stand in awe as we see God's hand in the smallest of details in Ellie's life. God hand picked this special nurse for Ellie as she told us she usually works nights but just happen to work days this weeks. She was the one who got to pick all of Ellie's nurses and so Miss Ellie got the best of the best. She also knew the consistency for Ellie was important so Ellie had very consistent nurses that we all came to love. By the end Ellie would even let them touch her and do their exams without her crying, a huge improvement from the beginning of the week.

We felt so blessed that Ellie had such amazing care and was loved on in an amazing way. Her night nurse said she just may have to go to China to bring home a little Asian princess for herself.

Miss Ellie has been pretty serious and it has take quite a bit to get a smile out of her.

Amy decided we should take the princess around the 5th floor in the chariot. Ellie started jabbering away and the smiles came out.

Every time I tried to take a picture of our sweet girl she pulled out her serious, grumpy face. I can't wait to see this little girl's smile return to her face.

On Thursday as the doctors were doing evening rounds there was a buzz about possibly going home on Friday. We could hardly believe that we could be scooping our little girl up and walking out the door in less than 24 hours.

Friday we had a busy morning of x-rays, lines being pulled, EKG, blood draws and the an Echo. When all was said and done and reviewed we received the news that Ellie's little heart is functioning great. It has a little remodeling to do and pressures need to level out but she is on meds to help that happen. It is amazing that we walked into the hospital on Tuesday morning with Ellie's broken little heart and just 3 days later we are walking out with a little girl with a healthy heart, to God be the glory!

As we got in the car and began to drive away the tears fell again. I know Eric and I would say this was one of the hardest weeks of our life. A week that was physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally draining. A week that the prayers of many carried us. A week that stretched us spiritually as we helplessly handed our little girl into the hands of the one who created her. A week that we continued to see God's hands over the tiniest of details in our daughter's life. A week that we once again felt honored that God would pick us to be this little girl's mom and dad.

Ellie did great on our drive home. We stopped mid trip for a little break but when we pulled in the garage and Eric opened her door there was a big smile. She knew she was home!

This smile says it all! Guess who is happy to be home! There were four other little people waiting with open arms and lots of kisses ready to love on their little sister.

If you have not read about little Ivy Joy you need to head over to her mom's blog! Block out a couple hours and take some kleenex's and start back in February. God will blow your socks off with what he has done in and through this little girl! She will always hold a special place in our hearts! She will always be part of Ellie's story. She has touched our family in a very special way! Continue to lift this little girl and her family up in prayer!

A Little Heart Made New

2013-01-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

I know this update is long overdue and people have emailed and messaged checking in and saying they are praying. Thank you for lifting us and our sweet girl up. The last 24 hours have been a bit of a wild ride.

Our day began bright and early Tuesday morning as we walked into the hospital at 5:45am Tuesday morning. We were feeling ready to put this behind us but at the same time our hearts were heavy with what was to come. We knew it would be a long day of waiting.

Miss Ellie was a trooper being woke up at 5:30 and given her bath with her special soap. Then we were escorted to her Pre-Op room and she got all gowned up.

At 7:30 it was time to say goodbye to my precious girl. I kissed her goodbye and as I watched her walk away in her daddy's arms tears began to fall. I prayed through tears and I laid her in the hands of the one who created her, knowing there are no better arms to be in. Thanking him for giving me the honor of being this precious little girls mom. Eric was able to stay with her until she fell asleep.

At 9:03 we got word that surgery had started and 2 1/2 hours later we were escorted down to meet with the surgeon. He successfully patched her hole but also found a surprise out pouching that needed to be fixed as well. She arrived in the ICU around 12:45 and we finally were able to see her about 2:15. As we walked into her room tears fell again, she looked so tiny in that little bed with all her tubes.

It was a huge relief to see our sweet girl and kiss those cheeks.

It was of course hard to see her with all her lines but she actually looked better than we expected. She wasn't too swollen and looked like our sweet little princess!

For most of the afternoon they tried to keep her sedated since she was still intubated with a breathing tube. She showed her little spicy side early as she tried to wake up and was ganging and biting on the tube. She burned through quite a bit of sedation meds as they tried to keep her asleep.

Dad was checking out all her new lines and her precious new beauty mark.

While she was in surgery we met her nurse and once again felt like God continues to write this little girl's story. Call it a coincidence, we call it a God thing and a huge blessing that Ellie's day nurse was adopted from Korea with her twin when she was 6 months old. We saw instantly the love she had for our little girl. We continue to stand in awe of how God is in all the details of this sweet little girl's life.

It was a huge blessing to hold our little princess again!

At 4:15 they were able to remove the breathing tubes and had her come out of sedation. Most of the evening was spent trying to manage her pain as she was pretty agitated. She would go for an hour or so with no issues and then thrash around and cry for an hour or so. It is such a helpless feeling to watch your child and really feel like you can do anything for them. We spent a lot of time just trying to talk to her, rub her little head, snuggle in close and try what ever we could to get her to calm down.

At about 11 last night Eric and I had the biggest scare of our life. Eric was giving Ellie a bottle and she stopped breathing and her eyes rolled back. He quickly yelled, "somebody help me!" The nurse took one look at her and sounded the alarm. Before we knew 10 -12 people flew into her room with the code cart. We were pushed out of her little glass room only to stand by with tears streaming down our faces and panic in our hearts. It was by far the scariest thing we have every experienced. The medical team went into "Go Mode" and did what they do and quickly got her stabilized. They began running tests and everything came back normal. They think she potentially choked a little and didn't want to aspirate so held her breath. It could have also been she just struggled with the suck, swallow, breathe as she was coming out of sedation. At any rate we were very thankful it wasn't heart related and that they were able to stabilize her quickly. They sedated her and kept her calm for the rest of the night. We feel so blessed by the care Ellie is getting and the way they are taking care of our sweet girl.

This morning Ellie was in her true form, very agitated. My friend Diana said she would gladly pass on her daughter, Emme's title as the "Agitated Empress!" Ellie now has a name that proceeds her on the 5th floor among the doctors and nurses. She is definitely leaving her mark. She is also wrapping herself around quite a few people's fingers on the 5th floor even in her spicy form. Eric and I are pretty sure we may be in for a rude awaking when this little is up and running at full strength.

Today around noon they came in and took out her arterial line in her groin and her catheter. She has been a different girl and has pretty much crashed the whole afternoon. Her poor little mind and body needed a break. They have kept her in the ICU and will continue to take it a day at a time.

Thank you for all your words of encouragement, messages, comments, phone calls, texts and emails. They have been a huge blessing to us. Most of all thank you for covering us in prayer. We have felt them.

We are praising God that Ellie's broken little heart has been made new. A mighty physical and emotional healing is taking place in this precious little girl. To Him be the glory!

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

Surgery At 9 AM

2013-01-07T20:15:00.002-08:00

This morning as we were making our way to Rochester the sun was rising. It was beautiful.

Two of my friends shared these truths with me! I am so thankful for his promises that we can cling to!

From the rising of the sun to it's setting, let the name of the Lord be praised.

His mercies are new every morning, great is his faithfulness.

We arrived and began Ellie's pre op appointments with a couple blood draws. It didn't take her too long and her little lip came out.

In no time those big crocodile tears were streaming down her little face. I am so thankful for Eric and how he steps in for all these procedures. I would have been a train wreck today if I was holding her down. I had enough tears standing on the side lines.

After her procedures we made our way to the heart floor to meet with her cardiologist. Every thing looked great and she is ready for surgery tomorrow. We also met with the surgeon and went through everything step by step for tomorrow.

We checked in to our hotel and Ellie took a little snooze. We then headed out for dinner. Emotions hit as Eric and I sat at dinner. It is hard to put into words what we are feeling. We have a huge peace knowing God has our little girl in the palm of his hands. At the same time reality hit tonight as we look to tomorrow and what our little girl will walk through in the coming days. It is hard to believe that this little girl has only been with us for a litter 60 days. She has found her way into the depths of our hearts.

Tonight is Ellie's last night with her broken little heart in her body. Tomorrow she will be given a fully functioning heart.

Please lift Ellie up tomorrow. We head over the the hospital at 5:45 am. We will say goodbye to her around 7 or 7:30. Her surgery will start at 9:00 am and will be 3-4 hours long. We will then have to wait another long 90 - 120 minutes until we can see her. Thanks in advance for standing in the gap for our sweet girl. We know there is an army of prayer warriors storming the gates tomorrow on Ellie's behalf.

Today We Begin The Journey To Fix Ellie's Heart

2013-01-07T04:51:00.000-08:00

The day has come to begin our journey to fix our little Ellie's heart. We stand in awe of God's timing of moving our paperwork so quickly so we could get our her home for this surgery her little body needs. Our little girl has endured a lot her first year of life. One thing we know is she is a little fighter. She came to us not able to hold her head up, sit up, roll over, had no idea she had legs, couldn't use her hands or pick up a toy, was skin and bones and would cry and pull away when we would touch her. She has shown us how resilient her little spirit is, she has shown us that love can heal. She is a little fighter.

Today this little girl ....

sits up like a pro ...

loves to roll around on the floor ...

does a nose dive from sitting to get on her tummy ...

started to army crawl ...

can pick toys up and even hold them for awhile. Sometimes her feet even get in there to help...

found her legs for the first time this week without us helping her ...

has been exploring the house this week and made it to the tile for the first time and found a wall to touch ... so many new things to experience and feel when you become mobile ...

has turned the corner in her security and loves to be by her siblings now ...

Max can still be a bit much for her but she sure does watch him ...

is content on the floor even if we walk away from her ...

watches everything we do ....

loves to be held and has us all wrapped around her little finger.

She has a big week coming up, one we wish she didn't have to endure and yet we have no doubt that God has her in the palm of his hands. She is our little fighter and we know she will fight through this too!

As I was sharing with a friend yesterday about how overwhelmed I was with people messaging and emailing that they were praying for Ellie, people that I didn't even know, she said, "what a privilege that God would choose you to be Ellie's mommy. That you get to sit beside her, comfort her and love on her in the days ahead." Amen, we feel so blessed that God would entrust this sweet little girl to us, that we get a front row to seat to all that God has for her.

We have a peace knowing the same God that parted the Red Sea, parted the waters to our little girl. That same God and all his power will be with our little Ellie in the days to come. He will be in the operating room and will be by our side as our little girl's body recovers from surgery.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Thank you for standing in the gap for our little girl! We begin her pre op appointments today at 11:10 and we will find out the exact time of surgery. We will try to update tomorrow.

For I know the plans I have for you, "declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Surgery Is Set

2013-01-01T17:44:00.000-08:00

On December 19 at about 7:00 pm Eric looked at the forecast and decided that we should hit the road for Rochester, Minnesota. He was afraid the interstates would shut down in the morning and we wouldn't get to Ellie's appointments with her new cardiologist. I called a our neighbor to cover until our sitter could come, packed bags, made a list for the the sitter for the morning and we jumped on the road.

The snow started five minutes into our drive and continued the entire trip. The snow was coming straight at us and the majority of the time we couldn't see the lines on the road. A trip that should have taken 3.25 hours took us over 5. I can't believe I didn't pull my camera out to capture some of the crazy winter weather. We were never so excited to see our hotel as we rolled into the parking lot close to 3 am. Ellie was rock star on our trip and we tucked her in at 3:00 am and she settled right in. At 6 am my alarm went off to give her a bottle. It would be the last bottle she could have until after her sedated echo. She only took 2 ounces and was ready to go back to sleep.

We woke up Thursday morning with much of the morning to kill before Ellie's echo at 12:30. Around noon we made our way through the underground tunnels to the waiting room for Ellie's echo and to meet her new cardiologist. There was a buzz of people in the tunnels and you couldn't help but wonder why people were on the campus. So many people with a variety of stories behind their smiles and hellos.

We made our way to the front desk and checked Ellie in. She was a trooper the whole morning. We thought we would be driving so thought "no bottle" would be easy. Little did we know that we would be watching the clock tick instead.

Ellie stole hearts in the waiting room and we shared about our journey to her with a sweet grandma that asked question after question.

I think this is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Ellie and her daddy to date. This picture is worth a thousand words. She has wrapped herself around her daddy's heart and this picture is proof.

The staff was so amazing as we began our journey back to the room where they would do Ellie's echo. Her nurse fell in love with her and felt awful that every time she came close to Ellie she would scream hysterically. Her new cardiologist came in and we could hardly talk over Ellie's hysterical cry. She decided to get her sedated and then we would visit.

The process to get her sedated was awful. She fought it tooth and nail. By syringe 2 and 3 of meds she had figured out how to spit it out and would was crying so hysterically that she was choking. I was never so thankful that she was in her daddy's arms as we both had tears in our eyes as we watched her struggle through this. In time the meds kicked in and she fell asleep in her daddy's arms.

Eric and I sat back and watched all the machines around us. They were monitoring all her stats and trying to decipher what was going on in the echo was nearly impossible.

They took all the pictures they needed and then Dr. Cabalka, her cardiologist came in. I had received Dr. Cabalka's name from my friend Diana. She had a friend who had adopted a little girl from China with a severe heart condition and they had just been to see her and had amazing things to see about her. I can't even begin to tell you the peace we had when we met Dr. Cabalka. She had been amazing on the phone but in person she was a true gift on this journey of Ellie's heart. She spent so much time with us talking about Ellie's heart and explaining things in ways we could understand. But more than her being Ellie's cardiologist she wanted to know about Ellie, her past, her orphanage, her family. She is a Christian and has been to China and a variety of other countries on medical missions. She understands adoption and wants Ellie to feel loved and secure before we walk the road of surgery. As she spent time with us and we shared Ellie's story you could see the tears in her eyes, the compassion that she had for our little girl. She saw her as more than her patient, she saw her as our precious little girl.

We heard very similar terms out of her mouth that we had heard weeks before at Ellie's first cardiologist visit. There were a couple things that we didn't realize though. Ellie's heart is working 2.5 times harder than a normal heart. The hole is causing the left side to be enlarged and it is the size of a small adult heart. The hole is allowing blood to flow directly to her lungs so if she gets any type of respiratory infection she could go downhill fast. She isn't in heart failure so surgery isn't an emergency but it needs to be done sooner than later especially with all the potential winter germs floating around.

After we finished our consult with Ellie's cardiologist we tried to wake our sleepy little girl. She stretched and those little feet went in the air.

In no time we saw those precious little eyes pop open. She was pretty excited to see her bottle. After Ellie ate we made our way over to the hospital to meet with Ellie's surgeon, Dr Burkhart. We heard many of the same things come out of the surgeon's mouth as he explained what was happening with Ellie's heart. He then began to share what her surgery would look like. In one breath he said this was a very straight forward surgery in the heart world. In the heart world it is considered a minor, non complex surgery to which we are grateful. In another breath he told us he would be putting Ellie on bypass, stopping her heart, cutting into her heart and then sewing a patch over her hole. So while comforting that Ellie's heart condition is not complex when you hear your daughter's heart will be stopped on the operating table your stomach can't help but knot up. Some of his last words to us were "I have 3 kids and I will treat her just like my own!"

Eric and I continue to sit back and see God's fingerprints all over our little girl. There is no question in our minds why he handpicked her for our family. He showed up in a big way as he moved her paperwork through the system and knew she needed to be out of the orphanage and into our arms. And now we see the even bigger picture that she needs her little heart fixed. We continue to see his fingerprints on blessing us with an amazing cardiologist and surgeon that we feel more than comfortable placing our Ellie in their hands in the days to come. God has shown us that he has and will provide everything we need. He has provided so many people like you to stand in the gap for us and we know we have many standing behind us covering Ellie in prayer.

Surgery is right around the corner. It is set for January 8. We will be heading to Rochester on January 7 for Ellie's preliminary work up. We won't know her surgery time until Monday after the schedule is set. Please pray for Ellie's little body and heart this week. Pray for her health and that we can all stay healthy for the next 7 days.

We are so thankful that we can rest in Him and His faithfulness.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
Psalm 91:4

Ellie's First Christmas

2012-12-31T13:59:00.003-08:00

As I hung the fifth stocking a few weeks ago I couldn't help but stand in awe once again of our journey to our little girl. Last Christmas we hadn't even started process so a new little one this Christmas wasn't on our radar. We feel so blessed that God would pave the way for our little girl to make her way into our family and more importantly in our hearts this Christmas.

This Christmas Ellie brought a bit of perspective to life. It has been evident that Ellie found her security being in her daddy and mommy's arms. She has been slowly letting her siblings in a little bit at a time. As Christmas approached I felt like it was more important for us to have time as a family and trying to make our days as relaxed as possible. That meant letting go of some of our traditions this year and instead focusing on time with each other.

We usually do our Christmas as a family on Christmas Eve but we decided to spend the day on Saturday having Christmas as a family. Santa must have gotten wind because he came during the night. The kids just couldn't believe that he came early and they were on the top of his list. You would think by number 5 this mom would have it figured out and not put the little one to bed in the pj's you want her to wear for pictures in the morning because without fail they will have a blow out. So Miss Ellie didn't get to have her matching pj's on for stockings.

She wasn't quite awake or sure what to think with all the hustle and bustle. Shane was so sweet and emptied everything out of her stocking for her one by one before he dug into his.

It is hard to believe that just last year we were celebrating Max's first Christmas home!

We decided to head to our favorite breakfast place and then spent the day hanging out as a family. We watched a movie, played games, played in the snow, baked some cookies and just soaked up time together.

We finished the evening by opening gifts with kids.

Ellie got her first doll for Christmas. The girls are excited to play babies with her.

On Sunday Eric's family spent the day with us. We had another relaxing day hanging with family.

Ellie loves books and got some new touchy, feely books for Christmas. They will be perfect for the hospital.

Ellie has a fan club cheering her on as she tries and experiences new things. The kids get so excited for her.

The kids had an absolute blast together.

Christmas Eve day was much like the previous. We spent the whole day soaking up time together as a family. We began getting ready for church in the late afternoon.

The lovely self-timer photo!

We were asked to do a reading as a family and light the last advent candle at our Christmas Eve Service. It was special standing in front of our church family as a family of 7. My heart is definitely full this Christmas season.

On Christmas we made our way to my parents to celebrate Christmas.

I love how God has knit our family together ... there are five biological grandchildren, five adopted domestically and internationally and two foster grandchildren. I know my parents would say they are blessed!

Every year Grammy gets the kids matching pj's. The tradition is a picture at the end of the night on Papa and Grammy's bed. Two years ago my heart ached as I took the pajama picture. We were waiting to travel to get Max. It was hard knowing a little boy that had found his way into my heart wasn't home. Last year I loved the pj picture and seeing Max right where he belonged. This year's picture makes me smile as we have added one more little striped Christmas blessing to Papa and Grammy's bed.

The most precious gift to me this Christmas season was truly all the time we spent as a family. By letting go of some of our traditions and some of the business that comes with the season we were really able to soak up our time together. It has been amazing to see Ellie soaking up all this family time and her security level has jumped to new levels. She often still keeps an eye on me but she freely will go to her siblings now and doesn't need to come back in my arms after 5 minutes. The kids have been waiting for this so it was a pretty special Christmas gift for them too. Ellie is also feeling more and more comfortable playing on the floor or in her jumper without someone sitting right next to her. It has been amazing to see the transformation in this little girl over the last week!

The wonder of the season was magnified as we experienced the most precious gift this Christmas, having Ellie home! Praying we can bathe in the wonder of the gift of His presence and the blessings he has for us in 2013!

The Journey Of Ellie's Heart

2012-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

The journey of our little Ellie's heart began before we received Ellie's referral and long before we heard the news that our little girl needed open heart surgery a little less than a month ago.

I followed a family to China as they brought their little girl, Ivy Joy home. This family stepped out in faith to bring home a very sick little girl who needed heart surgery to have a chance at life. There were no guarantees for this family and they knew their little Ivy was very sick. In March Ivy Joy underwent her first heart surgery. I followed this little girl daily and prayed for her and her family. In no time this little girl had found her way into my heart and so did the sick heart babies waiting in China. I cried often over this little girl and God took a hold of my heart in the process. I couldn't shake the stirring inside of me so one night I told Eric I might be crazy but I felt like God was telling us we needed to bring home a very sick heart baby from China. I think his first reaction was "you are crazy!" After his initial shock we continued to talk and he said we needed to pray about it because if this was God's plan for our family he didn't want to stand in the way. We prayed and committed it to God. About a month later as we were wrapping up our paper chasing and close to being Dossier to China we revisited our conversation and at this time we felt like God didn't affirm moving forward with a sick heart baby. I had a total peace and knew God had used this little girl to open my heart I just wasn't sure why.

Fast forward to May 29 when we got a call from our agency and they had a file of a little girl for us to consider. My heart skipped a beat when I heard our social worker share that this little girl was just 7 months old and had VSD, a hole in heart. As we consulted with doctors it seemed as though her hole was fairly small and there would be a good chance that it would close on its own or she would need a noninvasive procedure. So while we were not bringing home a sick heart baby I felt like God had confirmed my stirring in some way but giving us a referral of little girl with VSD. He had given us the gift of a heart baby when it could have been a number of other special needs.

In August we were at a Gala Auction for one of the large medical systems in town. They began to share their new campaign of raising money and developing a state of the art pediatric heart hospital. They showed a video of their mission and their heart for meeting the need of families with babies with sick hearts right here at home. I cried through the video and just wondered if this was part of me meeting Ivy and God's stirring in my heart. I wondered if there would be some type of opportunity to start some type of ministry to support families that were walking a road just like Ivy. People who were potentially away from family and friends during a difficult time in their life.

Fast word to November 20 when we were sitting in a room with Ellie's Cardiologist and we found out Ellie's hole was double the size we initially thought. As we listened we were a bit taken back with the news that our little Ellie would need open heart surgery. While a surprise to us I knew at that moment that God had used a little girl named Ivy Joy to prepare my heart and mind for the news that day. God had began to prepare my heart before I even saw little Ellie's face. I had a crazy sense of peace walking out of our cardiologists office. Once again we saw God's fingerprints all over our little girl and our journey to her.

We have been overwhelmed by all the love, support and prayers on our journey. When we were in China and we asked for people to cover our little Ellie we had no idea those standing in the gap for us. We were overwhelmed with people we had never met that would email at the wee hours of the morning that were awake and praying for Ellie. People sending scripture, truths for us to claim when we emotionally were broken and at the end of ourselves.

We have been overwhelmed how this community has stepped out once again. When I posted about Ellie needing surgery I think we had most of the main heart hospitals around the US covered. People emailed offering doctor references, their homes to us, meals and love and prayers. What an amazing gift it is to be part of such an amazing community that shares Christ's love so openly and selflessly. Thank you to those of you who have stood in the gap for us and have offered to help as we continue this journey of Ellie's heart.

We have been given the name of some amazing cardiologists we have been able to consult with. Tomorrow we head to Mayo in Minnesota to meet with Ellie's potential cardiologist and surgeon. It will be a big day for our little girl. She will have a sedated Echo at 12:30pm and then we will meet with the Cardiologist and a Surgeon. Pray for wisdom and peace tomorrow on this next step of our journey.

Humble Beginnings

2012-12-14T22:08:00.001-08:00

The day that Ellie was placed in my arms there was something unexplainable that happened to my heart. This little girl found her way into the depths of it. As I felt her tiny frail body and her heart beating against mine she instantly became my little girl. The love I felt for her was instant and deep. I know this isn't always the case in adoption. I have read enough blogs and heard enough testimonies that I know there are times that this love isn't instant. There are people that step out in faith and choose to love a child and that bond and deep loves comes in time because of a choice, a choice to love. I know people who have adopted multiple times and have experienced both sides of this journey of love. I love how God can bridge that gap, how he gives us the ability to love his children so deeply and completely. He is the greatest example of that love as he adopts us into his family and loves us just like his one and only son. He loves us so completely that he sent his precious son to die for us. This journey of adoption makes that love so much more tangible to me.

Ellie has been home for almost 30 days. The love I have for her is so deep that there is a part of me that feels like she has been with us forever. I know there will be times that I will be shaken and will walk back in time to the reality of Ellie's humble beginnings. Last week was the first time since we have been home that the reality of her first 12 months truly surfaced again with deep and hard emotions. My mind, heart and soul went back to the day that we walked into the orphanage. I shared with another adoptive mom some of the hard pieces of our journey. The following day I met with the feeding team. The speech therapist and occupational therapists asked questions about Ellie's first 13 months and so emotionally I walked right back there. We all sat around the table with tears as they observed Ellie. The reality of how sensory deprived she has been, the reality of some of her behaviors and ways she holds herself or things she does with her hands and mouth because of her lack of sensory stimulation became obvious. The things she does to self soothe or ways she found comfort came to light. These two ladies were so encouraging and cheered Ellie on when she attempted to try new things. There was a huge applause as she picked up a little yellow duck after trying time after time. They encouraged me and gave me things I can do with her at home. They were quick to point out the things they were seeing through our session that were steps in the right direction. They confirmed my gut feeling that she wasn't ready emotionally to have therapists working with her right now. As my heart and mind were taken back to Ellie's humble beginnings over the last week my heart also began to ache for Mary, Jesus' mother.

I think this year is the first time I truly have put myself in the shoes of Mary. Oh my goodness, her son, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords couldn't have had a more humble beginning. The Savior of the world was born in a stable. It looks peaceful in all the pictures yet can you imagine how loud it was, the smell, how cold it was .... I am not sure it can get much more humble than that. Yet those beginnings didn't define him, he was born with a purpose. A purpose that his mother knew about, a purpose that would be heart wrenching to watch as a mother. I can't imagine the emotions that Mary had that night as she held per precious son knowing what was to come.

A story I have heard over and over again and yet this year it feels as though God has taken hold of my heart in a new way and given me a new appreciation for the magnitude of the birth of his Son.

What a precious gift it is to have Ellie in our arms this year as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. What a precious gift it is to have a new awe this season for the birth of a baby boy, a baby that was born for you and me.

Where Have The Days Gone?

2012-12-04T19:38:00.002-08:00

I have no idea where the time is going but the days keep ticking by. I have had many checking in to make sure we doing ok and see how Ellie is adjusting to her new life. I wanted to give you a quick update on what we have been up to.

Miss Ellie was a bit overwhelmed by all the love that 4 siblings were willing to offer her those first days home. She became pretty attached to her dad and mom and would cry these big crocodile tears when we put her down. We had some tears from the big kids as they have been waiting to love on their little sister and it has been hard on their little hearts that she really just wants dad and mom right now. We had some really good conversations about what Ellie has been through and how it is good that she is attaching to dad and mom and looking to us for security. We assured them that in no time they will be yelling to get her out of their room just like Max. I assured them that with time and by gently loving her they would win her little heart over.

Last Sunday I felt like she was starting to feel more comfortable and less anxious but things took a turn when she spiked a 103 temp. It was a bit scary to see her tiny little body and heart react to her fever. It is such a different feeling knowing she has this underlying heart defect. By Wednesday four out of the five had been to the doctor and were all on meds for Strep throat. I felt like I needed a spread sheet to keep it all straight. The counter definitely screamed the reality that we have five kids.

Ellie ran a fever for four days and so she spent most of her days in my arms and the evenings in her daddy's. Needless to say this mom didn't get a ton done but that is ok. Ellie also decided to stop eating for about 24 hours which also made us a little nervous. I have a feeling this little girl is going to teach us a lot about continuing to lay her and her health in the hands of the one who created her.

By Friday everyone was back to school and mid morning Ellie decided to eat again. We moved into the weekend with things looking up. Ellie still has wanted to spend most of her time in the arms of her dad and mom. It is a bit of a balance with four other ones that need us but we are also more than willing to hold this little girl as much as we can and as much as she wants right now. We saw first hand what her first 13 months looked like, we know how deprived she was of physical touch. She desires to be held close and we continue to see her reach out for physical contact and pull away less and less when we touch her little body. I know that in no time she will be off and running so we will soak up this cuddle time. She also has found her voice back in the last couple days and is babbling up a storm.

She continues to gain strength in those little hands. It is crazy that just last week she couldn't hold a rattle for more than a couple seconds and now she will hold it and even shake it. She is also slowly letting her siblings into her little heart. On Monday she was all smiles when she saw them when she woke up. The girls were grinning from ear to ear as they said, "she knows us!" The big kids have been so patient and amazing with her when they really just want to love on her. We have seen some fruits of their patient hearts in the last 24 hours and it is a beautiful sight all around. I can't wait to see what the next week holds in our house.

It is amazing to see the way that love is healing her little body, mind and spirit. We have been overwhelmed once again by the outpouring of love and prayers after we received the news about Ellie's heart. I will update you on where we are at with that in the next couple days. On Thursday we head in to meet with the feeding team. There will be a group of specialists observing her. Pray for our appointment and guidance as we continue to find the balance of finding the resources we need to help Ellie but also just loving on her and helping her feel secure and loved before we throw doctors and therapists at her.

A Stirring

2012-11-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

We have had Ellie in our arms for twenty one days. We traveled many miles and our hearts have traveled to depths we never dreamed they would. God has knit this little girl's heart in the depths of ours and he has broken our hearts wide open in the process.

When God calls you to step out in faith to adopt he doesn't promise it will be easy but he does promise that He is faithful. There will be blessings far greater than you could ever imagine.

The need is huge, 147 million orphans in the world.

It is easy to look at faces ....

... or deep into the eyes of an orphan when they don't have a name.

But when they have a name ......

everything changes.

I have heard from many in the last weeks that God is stirring in hearts. And while I know adoption isn't for everyone if God is stirring in your heart take the first step in obedience ... maybe it is getting on your knees to pray or maybe just filling out that first form. Take the first step and let him open doors he wants you to walk through but you can't walk through if you don't take a step.

Maybe he isn't calling you to adopt but maybe God is asking you to help another family financially, support a child in foster care. Maybe God is breaking your heart for the orphans and asking you to get on your knees in prayer for them. What ever God is asking of you, take the next step.

I can't imagine missing out on this sweet little blessing and everything that God has revealed to us along the way!

"The truth is, I was born with a plan. I wanted life to be safe and predictable. My plan was to marry someone with a nice nine-to-five schedule and have a tidy, organized life -- everything under control. Absolutely none of that came true! And if it had -- if I had lived the life I thought I wanted -- I know I wouldn't have experienced the grace or the miracles of God in the ways that I have. What I've found is that it's in the most unlikely times and places of hurt and chaos that God gives us a profound sense of His presence and the real light of His hope in the dark places." -- Mary Beth Chapman, "Choosing to See"

My Heart Is Full

2012-11-22T23:30:00.000-08:00

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

1 Chronicles 16:8

As I reflect on all our blessings this Thanksgiving season my heart is full. On the top of the list is the way that God has stretched and and continues to grow me. It was often through tough times but it seems as though now in some ways I can embrace them as I fight through them. While those times are still painful and hard I know they are the times that my faith and reliance on Christ are strengthened.

My husband is another huge blessing in my life. While we don't have a perfect life or a perfect marriage we continue to figure out how to walk this journey together. God continues to stretch and grow us and bind us together in ways that I never dreamed. As we walked through some really tough days on our journey to Ellie I was reminded of what a huge blessing it is to walk this journey called life with a strong, godly man.

We have been blessed with five precious blessings. I feel so blessed that God would entrust us with his precious children. Each of them makes my heart smile in different ways, each of them sharpens me in different ways but each of them are wrapped tightly around my heart.

We have been blessed with an amazing family and friends and God continues to showers blessings all over our life.

To top off this Thanksgiving season has to be having our little Ellie home. We have clearly seen God's fingerprints all over this little girl and our journey to her. She has given me the honor of becoming a mommy for the fifth time. I wish I could put into words the journey my heart has gone on as I became this little girl's mommy ....

" ... because "Mommy" is forever. It is such a powerful name. Mommy means "I trust you." Mommy means "you will protect me." Mommy is for shouting when you need someone dependable and for laughing with when you are excited.

Mommy is for crying on and cuddling with when you are sad, or giggling and hiding behind when you are embarrassed. Mommy is the fixer of boo-boos and the mender of broken hearts. Mommy is a comfort place - a safe place. Mommy means "you are mine and I am yours and we are family."

- Katie J Davis, Kisses from Katie

Ellie's Heart

2012-11-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we began our journey to try to uncover what was going on in Ellie's little body. We knew Ellie had VSD. When we had Ellie's file reviewed by a doctor at referral we were told with the size of her hole there was a good chance it could close on it's own or if she needed surgery it wouldn't be too invasive. We knew in China that there were reasons she was not thriving and was so tiny. After visiting the orphanage we wondered if it was because of the environment she was in? We also knew there could be something going on in her little heart that also attributed to her delays.

Today we learned that our little Ellie has a large hole in her heart. It is almost double the size that was stated in her paperwork. The hole is having a negative affect on her heart. Our little Ellie will need open heart surgery. She is not in heart failure but she will need surgery sooner than later. They would love to see her get some good nutrition and meat on her bones before they do surgery. They don't perform this surgery in Sioux Falls so we are consulting with doctors for 2nd and 3rd opinions.

We are asking that you cover our little Ellie yet again. Pray for good health for our peanut and that she can daily gain strength. Pray that her heart would remain stable in the days to come until she has surgery. Pray for us as we continue to process the news of today. Pray for wisdom as we find a team of doctors that we feel comfortable with and that God would give her doctors wisdom on the timing of surgery. We know God has our little girl in the palm of his hands and today's news is no surprise to him.

Thanks for standing in gap for us once again.

Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

2012-11-19T18:09:00.001-08:00

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand- when I awake I am still with you.

Psalm 139:13-19

Our great and mighty God knit our sweet little Ellie together in her mother's womb.

He knit every piece of her together, even her imperfect little heart.

He created each of those fingers with their own unique finger print ...

and he knows where each of those feet will carry her.

God's design for her was perfection in his eyes. Little Ellie is fearfully and wonderfully made by her Creator.

He has penned her story with careful thought and has written it from the very beginning to the very end. We are humbled that we have been penned into this precious girl's story. We stand back in awe as we begin to watch his glory put on display through redemption in this little girl's life.

Tomorrow we begin our journey to doctors to begin to uncover what it going on in our little girl's body. Tomorrow we will visit Ellie's cardiologist. Pray for her doctors, for her little body and for us. We have a huge peace knowing tomorrow begins the journey to helping our little girl and understanding her little body.

Home Sweet Home

2012-11-18T13:12:00.003-08:00

We began our 24 hour marathon home from Hong Kong on Thursday morning.

We were hoping Ellie was ready for the long haul. Full of smiles, she was ready to go. She was a super trooper on three flights and a whirlwind of craziness in between. She only cried about 1.5 hours total and usually it was going up or coming down on our flights. She didn't sleep a ton but was a very happy little girl and stole hearts all around her.

When we landed on American soil in Detroit Ellie became a US citizen. We handed our last batch of paperwork over in customs, what a feeling, 9 months of paperwork and every ounce of it worth it.

By the time we boarded our final flight in Detroit we were more than ready to be home. We had a whole group that was anxiously anticipating our landing.

As we were coming toward our fan club we could hear Max yelling "daddy and mommy!" Oh my goodness does that face just say it all.

As I walked through the door with Ellie in my arms the tears began to fall. To see family and friends and our four precious blessings waiting for us was overwhelming.

These pictures are worth a thousand words!

There were hugs given ...

and smiles just couldn't be wiped off Ellie's brother's and sister's faces.

Ellie reached out and touched Shane's face and his dimple says just how he felt!

We feel so blessed to have family and friends waiting for us. We have felt the love, support and prayers of so many on this journey.

Little Hannah stayed up late and was at the airport waiting to meet her new friend Ellie. Hannah came home just 4 weeks ago. I can't wait to see these two grow up together. In no time Ellie is going to be toddling after Hannah.

Finally together as a family of seven!

Just the girls!

After introductions were made and hugs were given Ellie put her little thumb in her mouth and settled in!

The kids were so excited for us to walk through the front door.

They were so proud of all the things they had made and the decorations that had been hung with help from our sweet neighbors.

There were lanterns that were made and hung ...

and streamers all over the house!

We were blessed with flowers, food, gift cards and balloons from family and friends.

Emma's class had made these sweet cards and all the kids wrote precious notes.

Shane was so proud of the letter her wrote to Ellie. I love the part that he said "I had a dream that you lay your head on my shoulder."

Miss Ellie settled in with her big sister and a book when we got home. I have a feeling she is going to move from Queen to Empress status in our household rather quickly.

We have been on a journey of a lifetime and have been overwhelmed by God's blessings on this journey. We had no idea the journey God would take our hearts on when we boarded a plane 19 days ago. We couldn't thank you enough for going along with us, for standing in the gap for us and our little Ellie and covering us in prayer.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

John 1:16

Saying Goodbye

2012-11-14T18:30:00.003-08:00

Yesterday was our last day in Guangzhou. You have seen so many sweet pictures of our sweet little Ellie but like we have mentioned this little girl is not a fan of being changed or bath time. We knew we had to document how bad she really thinks it is. We are really hoping in the days to come it gets better. We are also praying she doesn't wake the whole plane every time we need to change her diaper. There is no where to escape in the air.

We decided to spend our last morning in China at Shamian Island. We stayed on the island with Max and I loved our morning walks around the island. I loved watching all the Chinese people around the island doing their thing. People would be singing, dancing, exercising, swimming, playing games or just sitting together and talking. There are so many things I love about the Chinese culture and this is just one of the many things. They seem to slow down and truly enjoy life.

We went to the island and enjoyed a morning walk taking it all in.

Ellie had her last ride in China on her daddy's chest!

We did some last minute shopping.

On the way to China I told Eric we needed to stop by the statues so I could get a picture of Ellie standing by them. Little did I know that she wouldn't even know how to put her little feet down to put weight on them. We took pictures today by the statues. I can't wait to look back at these pictures when she is standing and taking her first steps.

We got back to our hotel packed up and went for lunch. We met our travel group downstairs in the lobby for pictures and goodbyes.

We made a stop at our agency office for a picture on the red couch. There is a huge tradition to get children's pictures taken on the red couch but the White Swan is closed on the island now. Our agency snagged one of the couches so families still have the read couch tradition.

Waiting for picture in the lobby with daddy.

Here are most of the little girls from our group!

Oh Ellie, love those eyes. She uses that look more often as she looks at you out of the corner of her eyes!

Our whole group together for the last time! What an amazing journey to be on with this group of people. A group of people who will always have a special place in our heart! Our prayers go with them as they dive into real life with their new little ones! It is amazing to see families being formed through adoption.

We can't wait to get home and to be together as a family of 7 but there is an ache deep in my soul to leave Ellie's birth country. Today Ellie will leave behind even more: her culture, language, and people. We have come to love the Chinese culture but as much as we honor her heritage, there will still be a loss. I pray that in the years to come she will see God's hand in her life. She will not look to her family, her culture or herself for her identity but that her true identity may be in Christ, the one who created her perfectly and has a plan for her life!

Our journey home has begun. We took a van from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and today the 24 hour marathon of travel begins. Thank you so much for going to China with us, for all the encouragement through numerous emails, messages and blog comments. We have been overwhelmed by the body of Christ covering us on this journey!

Next up ..... home as a family of 7 ... I can hardly wait!

Red, White And Blue

2012-11-14T05:45:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday little Miss Ellie was dressed in red, white and blue for our US Consulate appointment and oath taking ceremony.

We boarded the bus with two other families and made our way to the US Consulate. It was actually way more chaotic last time around. Were were at the Consulate with 12 other adoptive families this time instead of a large mass of people. We had to raise our right hand and swear all our paperwork was true and complete. We were called up one by one to go through our paperwork. As we were standing at the window watching them go through Chinese and American documents I told Eric it is truly amazing that everything goes so smooth. I am so grateful for an amazing agency, we don't have to worry about a thing but taking care of Ellie.

As we were waiting I looked over and I saw a face of a little girl that I recognized, a face I will never forget, a face I cried over. One day I was surfing blogs and I came across the blog of a mom adopting from China and as I saw her little malnurished face peeking out of steel bars my heart broke. I wondered how in the world that mom could not just get on a plane to bring that girl home. We met in person today and shed tears together as we shared our daughters stories. It is amazing how this journey can bind your hearts with people you have never met.

I left the Consulate with a broke heart yet again for the orphans we left behind, for the ones who have had care that has been horrible but also a joy for all the orphans that have found their way into the arms of their moms and dads. It has been amazing to witness the transformation that love brings in so many families.

After our Consulate appointment we headed to lunch with friends. We decided to try some Mexican food in China. All 7 of us jumped in a cab... you heard that right 7 of us. Eric and Kai were in the front and Eric, Shelly, Ellie, Elijah and I were in back. The cab driver shook his head as he tried to communicate that 4 was the limit. We told him we were ok and so we were on our way. At one time both of the little ones were screaming and Eric had a bag out because it seemed as though Kai was going to throw up. We all just kind of laughed and chalked it up to memories made in China.

We had an amazing lunch and I am not sure if it was because it was really good Mexican or because it tasted good to eat something besides Chinese food. We also had amazing fellowship. Our time in Guangzhou has been a breath of fresh air but we are getting anxious to board that plane and get home to our other four. We are excited for everyone to meet Ellie.

Our kids at home seem to be doing great. I think Papa and Grammy have been needing to go to bed earlier but it seems to be going smooth. They will need a long vacation after this. We are so grateful that they have stayed the long haul with the kids. We have been able to Skyp with them and they have loved seeing Ellie. We also got to Skype with the kids school. We Skyped with Emma's class and the other 2 came to her room too! We had fun sharing with the kids about China and they asked us questions about Ellie and her country. Their are so many from school that told us they would love on our kids while we were gone. We are thankful for this community that is more like family lifting us up in prayer and loving on our kids while we are away.

We finished the night sailing on the Dragon Boat on the Pearl River. We arrived at the dock with all the families from our agency. We waited for our Papa Murphy pizza to be delivered and then boarded the boat. We ate our pizza and then made our way to the top for the view.

It was a picture perfect night. The weather was amazing and it was fun to catch up with the other families on our last night together in Guangzhou.

It is hard to believe that just 10 days ago we were waiting to meet our little girl.

We feel blessed that God would bless us with special friendships on our journey!

Miss Ellie decided that she was getting a little sleepy. It was time to put the thumb to work.

She is be any sweeter! Foot in the air and thumb in the mouth. She is taking full advantage of getting comfy.

We had an amazing last night taking in the sights on the Pearl River with a special group of people that we have walked an amazing journey with.

From Princess To Queen

2012-11-13T08:14:00.003-08:00

I think Ellie has officially moved up in the ranks from Princess to Queen in the last day or so. She has quickly figured out in just over a week that she has a mom and a day that will hold her, come to her when she cries, give her kisses, cuddle with her and dote on her. It is amazing how fast you can start to see her move out of her institutional behaviors and into desiring to be touched, loved, kissed and held. In the days to come this little queen may have a rude awakening when reality sets in and she realizes she isn't the only queen in the house but for now we will give 110% of our attention. Although with 4 siblings she may just move the Empress status!

Our little queen has decided she wants nothing to do with her crib. She will fall asleep by us, on the floor, on our bed but lay her in the crib and she screams. I don't blame her, if I had been in a crib for 11 months I would scream too when I knew there was something better. Sunday night Ellie ended up between Eric and I. As Eric was crawling into bed our little princess pooped through our entire bed, all the way through to the mattress pad. Needless to say we decided with the language barrier and the time it wasn't worth having someone come and change it all out. We figured we would just be up another hour or more. We stripped everything off, threw the top sheet down and Eric got dethroned by the princess and quickly became queen as she cuddled up next to mom on the dry side of the bed and dad ended up on the small, not so comfy couch for the night.

Ellie woke up with smiles until it was time to take off her clothes, change her diaper and take a bath. Our little girl still screams at the top of her lungs when we attempt any of those three things. We are hoping she comes around for being changed on the plane or everyone who is asleep will quickly be woken.

We headed out with our group to the Safari Park for the day. We loved the Safari park when we were here with Max and were anxious to spend the day there again.

The park is amazing. We began making our way through the park and one of our first stops was at the Macaw Parrot. I had to get a picture for Alexa because while we were gone she did a big animal project and wrote a report on the Macaw parrot and created a 2 1/2 foot parrot out of paper mache.

The elephants and giraffes were our favorite last time. We made our way through the park with our friends Eric, Shelly, Elijah and Kai.

When we were adopting Max we met Kurt and Lauren who have become life long friends. We kept saying Kurt and Eric were twins separated at birth. It seem crazy that we come to China and find their triplet, Eric. It has been too funny as we discovered how alike Eric and Eric are.

They both were having way too much fun trying to get bananas in the elephants mouth. Kai thought it was pretty entertaining.

I think there was only one successful attempt out of 4 bunches of bananas between the two of them.

Elijah is six and was very excited about the new dinosaur exhibit. We know our boys would have loved it. It was fun to see the zoo through the eyes of a six year old this time.

Miss Ellie wasn't quite sure what to think of the rather loud dinosaurs.

We loved seeing all the pandas again. This guy was just lounging and snacking on some bamboo.

At one point we looked up and this is what we saw above us.

Could little Tai be any cuter in those shades?

The giraffes were a favorite this time around again.

Man look at that guy's tongue!

Elijah thought it was pretty cool too.

We then made our way to the train to ride through the Safari. The elephant was trying his best to spray us.

The bear was a bit intimidating when he stood on his back legs.

Eric and Ellie were having a little stare down on the train.

It was amazing to ride through the Safari and see all the animals so close.

These two guys were standing right nest to my little trolly car. Those long necks could have bent right down to lick me.

Ellie was a little angel through the day and then she sprawled out and crashed. This is when we discussed that her ranks should surely change to queen. Just look at her all sprawled out, loving life!

In no time her daddy was right there with her ... sound asleep!

When we got back we jumped in a cab and headed back to Shamian Island. We went to meet our friends Ted, Betsy and little Ryn at Lucy's. Lucy's is kind of like a right of passage restaurant on the island that many adoptive families rave about. Many love to get a grilled burger there feeling like they are getting a little piece of home after all that Chinese food. It was fun to meet at Lucy's and hear about their last couple days in Guangzhou. We have missed seeing them every day.

Little Ryn is just a doll and it was so fun to see her blossom even more over the last couple days. Is she a cutie or what? Love those cheeks! We can't wait to keep in touch and see how everyone settles in at home.

We said goodbye to our friends and headed back to our hotel in hopes for a better night sleep!

Park And Pearls

2012-11-12T05:45:00.004-08:00

Our second day in Guangzhou began pretty low key. It was nice to have time in the morning to just take our time and not have to be out the door at a certain time. We didn't have a great night sleep as Ellie's tummy and teeth seem to be bothering her. She also has had her world turned upside down in the last 7 days. So we just keep loving on our little girl and take it a day at a time.

I can't believe that just 7 days ago this little girl was placed in our arms and now is wrapped tightly around our hearts.

We have discovered Ellie loves books. It is fun to see her trying to use her little hands to try to open the flaps in this book. Every day her fingers and hands get a little stronger. I know that in no time we will see her flipping those pages.

We have also discovered that our little girl loves music. She bobs her little head when we put music on.

Later in the morning we walked to a beautiful park that is just down the road from our hotel. One of the things I love about China is walking through the parks.

They are beautiful and the people in them make them even more beautiful.

Today we saw a group of women dancing when we first entered the the park.

The paths around the park were absolutely beautiful.

I loved all the trunks of the trees along the path.

The were trees that grew in very interesting angels through out the park.

The paths were around a beautiful lake that was full of water lilies.

We continued walking taking it all in.

Miss Ellie continues to soak up cuddle time with daddy when we are out and about! She isn't going to know what hit her next week when daddy has to go back to work.

There were men and women reading, painting and doing other art. This man was writing on large papers in the park.

We have no idea what this building is in the park but it was stunning!

It was a beautiful day to take in the park and the Chinese culture. I am sure we will make our way back there before we head home.

In the afternoon we did some power shopping with Ann.

Ann is known as Ann of Red Thread in the states. You can order care packages or birthday cakes through her for your child. She will get them to the orphanage or foster home for you. She often will get updates photos for you as well. In the morning she had gone with a family as a translator to visit the child's foster mom. We used her to help us doing some shopping. She knows exactly where to go and where to get the good quality items.

Our first stop was for traditional Chinese silks.

I had my little notebook of the kids measurements and a tape measure. We went to town finding silks for the kids and getting extras for the years to come as they grow.

Look at that smile on Eric's face. Shopping is his least favorite thing to do ... let along shopping in China. What a sport. Ellie was a great sport as well.

We stopped at the silk scarf shop ...

and the porcelain shop.

We left that market and made our way on foot to the Pearl Market. It was a crazy walk and keeping up with Ann was even crazier. She is a woman on a mission. We often fell behind and she told us not to be so gentle on the streets. She would walk and shout out commands in Chinese and it seemed as those the sea of people would part for her. Like I said she was a woman on a mission.

There are certain sights and smells from China that will always be part of our experience. You could walk the streets of many China towns and see similar things. There are people on bikes with their pots of potatoes ...

or corn.

People are pushing carts of food through the streets or on the sidewalks.

There are carts parked all over selling various things. This man was selling fresh squeezed juice.

You will often seen men pushing large loads through the streets.

We finally made it to the Pearl Factory. The Pearl Factory is overwhelming. It is floors and floors of pearl shops. Each shop has bags and bags of pearls. We went there when we adopted Max and had no idea what were were doing or where to even start looking. I was wearing the pearl pendant that I bought when we were here adopting Max. Ann informed me she would never let a client by something like that ... it was only worth $3 US dollars. Hmmm yes that is the very reason we didn't buy too many pearls last time around. We were clueless.

We followed Ann as she made her way to a little shop and in no time there were strings of pearls all over the glass counter and she was moving strands left and right studying the quality that the store owner had laid out.

She asked to put some away and bring out others. We just watched and listened.

Miss Ellie and I trying to decided on which strand of pearls would be hers for her wedding day.

Next they brought out the single pearls and we picked some out and I ran with Ann to another shop to pick out the hardware. We bought it and brought it back and watched them put our pendants together. It was pretty amazing.

Miss Ellie looked on as they strung her pearls.

There were three women in the store helping us and they were ooing and awing over Ellie and asking Ann all kinds of questions about her. I could tell they were talking about her bow after a while. Ann informed me that in China kids only wear white on their head for a funeral ... oops! Ann told me she didn't really care and we were Americans so we could do what ever we wanted. It makes me wonder how many other things we do that leave the Chinese very confused or even offended.

We finished the night with a stop on Shamian Island for dinner. We stayed on Shamian Island when we adopted Max so ate at a variety of resturants there. We decided to hit one of our favorite Tai Resturant called Cow and Bridge.

We had another great day in Guangzhou and are starting the count down until we board a plane and bring Ellie home !

Hello Guangzhou

2012-11-11T06:42:00.001-08:00

We made it to Guangzhou. We checked into the China Hotel about 9:30 on Friday night. The hotel is really nice. It was fun to walk in and see numerous families checking in with new little ones in their arms. It is so amazing to think that just six days ago all these little ones were orphans. Praising God for a new life for each of them.

After we got settled Eric found some take out and brought it back to the room. We got settled and were all ready to crash for the night. Little Miss Ellie had a rough night and was up for a good chunk of time and was pretty restless. The poor little thing's tummy seems to be getting a little better but she is also dealing with cutting some new teeth. One is now through but the other is just starting to push through.

We were up bright and early thanks to our brown eyed little sweet heart! Those big brown eyes looking up at you make it a little easier to be awake. We were off on time to meet the rest of our travel group to head to the Medical Check. It was fun to meet all the families and their little ones. There are 10 Holt families here this week. It has been fun hearing their journey to their son or daughter and then just how much these little ones have come in just days.

The first stop was for Ellie's Visa picture. They warned us they wanted them happy and awake for these pictures.

Next we moved on to the Medical Check. Every adopted child needs to go through this medical check and the only way to describe it is crazy chaos. There are three stations that you need to hit with your child. So many of these little one cry their way through each station.

Ellie's first stop was the ENT. The looked at her ears, nose and throat and she was not a fan. We figured there would be many tears by our little girl as she is still not a fan of having her diaper changed or clothes off.

She then moved on to height and weight which wasn't too much fun for her either.

Her final stop was the general screening. We gave them our referral paperwork and they need to match the special need with the paperwork. The doctor said she was slim because of her heart and she needed it fixed in the US. We are anxious to see Ellie's cardiologist the week after we get home.

The poor little thing was exhausted and nestled her way into her daddy's chest and fell asleep!

Everyone was glad that we could check that off the list for this leg of the journey.

The rest of the afternoon we just chilled and finished getting settled in our hotel room! Ellie took a nap in my arms. She is no longer a fan of her crib and I don't really blame her. She has quickly learned how nice it is to snuggle with mom and dad. She also has started reaching up to us to be picked up. Her favorite thing to do is take the back of her hand and rub in on our faces or reach it to our lips for kisses. She is such a little honey!

She can be pretty serious ....

but also makes the best faces.

We decided to make sitting a little more entertaining with some towers.

In no time she figured out how to knock those towers over.

She thought it was a pretty fun game.

We finished the evening with dinner with our travel group from Holt. We had four large tables full of families. Little Josie had a birthday so we all sang "Happy Birthday" and enjoyed some cake with her.

It was great spending time with these families. We all have a bond that is pretty powerful ... our sons and daughters. It is amazing to see families being formed right before our eyes.