Where you adopted?

As we raise our internationally adopted children, we try to educate them and prepare them for those "questions" by their peers. Never know when that will happen but we do try the best we can...
This was an exchange the other day between Lily (4 years old) and another girl (5 years old)
The girl starts off...
"we have different skin"
Lily,"yes, I am tan because I am from China"
Girl,"were you adopted?'
ME-I cringe a bit a casually lean so I can hear the answer and see if I have to intervine.
Lily"Yes , i am adopted, I did not come out of my mommy's tummy. That sounds so gross and disgusting"LOL
That was the end of their adoption conversation. OK I know Lily has some of the facts mixed up a bit. Yes I know she was born. My bio kids also thought it was gross when they found out how they were born! LOL. But any how, I was so happy that Lily was able to answer the questions and be OK with it. The other girl may now have some funny questions to ask her parents at the dinner table about being "born".

Did you ever have a moment when the things that God has done for you or your children that you may have never known is revealed to you because of a set of circumstances that only HE could have orchestrated. When Cali was in China she lived with two foster families. Each one unique and needed. Each one provided by God just when she needed them most. There are many times that I look at Cali and I just wonder what ifs, I pray that I can right her wrongs,I wonder about her surgery and who may have held her or no one at all, was she cold, was she hot, was she prayed for? Some of those questions have been clearly answered for me. She was in fact held, she was prayed for and she was loved. Before I knew that God had chosen her to be my daughter He was there to protect her and sent others to her before I could. How can I thank some one for that. I do not know. I will be praying for them and I pray that God will give me the honor to help him as He allowed them to help Cali.

Disney 2010

We had a great time with great friends and family!

New Blog to follow

Check out the newest addition to my blog list. It is about an American family that has been living in Haiti for the past 9 months. Wow, what a time to be there!

I just added another one, I have not had a chance to read all the way through but the woman is ministering in Haiti and she is from Cary. Totally a God thing that I found both these blogs, what is God reveal to me. So exciting....

Before the chicken "pops" hit

I have already apologized for exposing our friends at play group to the chicken pops. Here is just a couple of oh so cute "before the pops" photos!

Chicken pox in the house!

For those of you who have older kids before kids were vaccinated with the the chicken pox vaccine and you kids got chicken pox, you wondered "where did they get the chicken pox" Well...I do know where Cali got the chicken pox, from ME! :-((((
Last week or so I got shingles. My two older kids had the chicken pox, so I knew they were safe. The next three had the vaccine, so they were safe. According to Cali's titers (sp?) she had the chicken pox in China so she should have been safe but....good morning today a nd Cali has chicken pox. Please pray that is not too severe..Thanks!

Thank you Greyson!

When you have many children the unexpected is bound to happen and everyone has to pitch in to help. Yesterday was one of those days. Madison had a doc appt and Greyson was out of school because of a snow day. Normally I would have dropped the little girls off at my mom's house but since Greyson was home, I left the girls with her. The doc's appt took 4 hours, to my surprise. Greyson did a great job with the girls so I wanted to recognize her and thank her. I know my sweet Greyson checks my blog so...Greyson thank you for...yesterday and everyday, for your servant's heart, you have come a long way my baby!!!!! I love you!!!!!!

Snow Shoe, WV

We had a fun time in Snow Shoe, WV. Peter and Greyson skied and Lily loved tubing. Cali likes things better a bit warmer and slower than the tubing. She and I went down once and that was it. I give her credit for trying but she made it very clear she was not going to do it again. We had fun watching all the other folks. We had some snow a few days later at home, which made Lily proclaim that Christmas had finally come. When I was taking down all the Christmas decorations Lily was sure Christmas was not over since it had not snowed yet. So now I can officially put all Christmas decorations away for next year.
My two little girls are growing up. I had not made a real fire in the fire place since the winter before we brought Lily home. Then came Cali, just could not trust their curiosity around the fire. Since we had temps in the teens and we were stuck home because of the snow and ice, I decided to make a fire. I love the smell and tending the fire.
A friend of mine is India now helping out in a special needs orphanage. Her blog is on my list if you would like to peek into her world. She has an incredible heart (she was Cali's "mid wife" during her "delivery" to us). She is just falling in love with the kids over there. Her blog is called Precious in His Sight

Where will they go?

Dear Lord,
I know you have a plan and you are in control. That is one thing that I LOVE about being saved by YOU. I no longer am in control, I am free to rest in your arms. Please Lord where will all those beautiful orphans of Haiti go? Who do you want to hold them, where are their forever families. I can not stop thinking about them....

Love Without Boundaries

Check out Love Without Boundaries...
Ofcourse this is very personal to me since Cali is a beautiful Cleft child.

The Issue

For unknown reasons, Asia has the highest incidence of babies being born with cleft lip in the world. Due to cultural beliefs in China that children born with cleft bring shame to a family, thousands of children each year with cleft are abandoned and end up as orphans. Sadly, many cleft babies in orphanages pass away due to an inability to feed, mainly caused by ineffective bottle propping and busy orphanage caregivers being unable to hand feed failure to thrive infants. We have personally seen hundreds of cleft babies struggle in an orphanage setting, often with fatal results. In 2008, we realized that by creating specialized Cleft Healing Homes for these fragile children, we could save lives every day. Many of the babies who enter our homes are in critical condition, often weighing just 8-9 pounds at 8 months of age. We believe so fully that no child should pass away simply from being born with cleft lip. Every orphan deserves a second chance at life and a family to love them.
The Plan

LWB was the 1st foundation in China to set up a healing center specifically designed for orphans with cleft. Our two current homes, staffed with specially trained nannies, have saved many babies’ lives. LWB provides cleft lip surgery to the children in our care as soon as they reach the required weight, and then we advocate for each child to find a permanent home through adoption. Our dream is to open a Cleft Healing Home in every province in China so that no orphan with cleft would have to struggle to survive. Winning one million dollars would allow us to open additional regional centers, providing TLC and medical care to the most vulnerable infants. In addition, we would work towards decreasing the stigma surrounding this special need in rural villages through community outreach. With education and support, we believe we could actually stop children from being abandoned, preventing children with cleft from becoming orphans.
The Outcome

The outcomes of this innovative project are clear. We would save the lives of orphans with cleft, as in our current homes, children who have arrived in critical condition are now thriving. We will also shorten the wait time for surgery and increase the adoption rate, as 95% of the children discharged from our homes have their adoption paperwork filed with our advocacy. We believe our cleft healing homes will make a long term impact on the surrounding communities in China, as we work to show the world that every child, regardless of their needs, deserves love. We know overcoming the stigma surrounding children with cleft will be a gradual process, but we believe it is an essential goal. As we open more life-saving centers, more orphanages can know there is a safe haven to send their children who are failure to thrive. LWB has local staff and hospital partnerships already in place throughout China, allowing us to begin implementation of this project immediately.